I was in sixth grade when the Berlin Wall came down. I remember a small group project on “the fall of Communism,” and I remember that I was assigned to Germany. I don’t remember much about my own presentation except that we included a lot of images from the Newsweek magazine that I brought in from home. I do remember that when asked to describe what was happening in the countries at the time, one of the members of the group assigned to Poland said, “It’s basically a living hell” which caused everyone in my 6th grade Catholic school classroom to gasp.
Scandalous.
Back to Germany.
I think because the fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the first times that I was aware I was witnessing an historical event, and as an 80s kid who was taught to fear the USSR, I’ve been fascinated with the history of Berlin, and more specifically, the Berlin Wall. It was always framed as another symbol of the fall of Communism, but after learning more in history classes, and visiting the Memorial twice, the construction and destruction of the wall extended far beyond Communist rule.
The Wall is gone, of course, but in its place is a really amazing memorial that explains how the Wall came to be, and how it was eventually torn down. The Memorial runs along Bernauer Strasse (really just to the South of the street), from the Visitor Center through an open-air path which ends across the street from Mauerpark (which means Wall Park). The Wall Memorial is divided into four themes: The Wall and the Death Strip, the Destruction of the City, Building the Wall, and Everyday Life at the Wall.
The Wall and the Death Strip
This area of wall demonstrates how the SED used the Wall to wield its power. It also shows the construction and fortification of the Wall over time, and the brutality involved with enforcing the border wall barriers, restricting the movement of East Berliners, and attempting to limit escapes.
The Destruction of the City
This area describes the extraordinary efforts taken by the residents to escape, and the measures taken by SED to prevent escapes including mandatory evacuations of homes to block escape tunnels. This section also highlights how the West aided escapes while trying to appear impartial.
Building the Wall
This area explains the multiple construction projects occurring over the 38-year history of the wall. It also explains the surveillance of the residents of East Berlin, and the neighbors turned spies to enforce border restrictions and regulations.
Everyday Life at the Wall
The final section demonstrates what is was like to live near the Wall and how life changed with the construction of the Wall. Several markers are dedicated to the media coverage of life in Berlin from the East and West.
As a kid, it’s hard to imagine a wall that could actually divide a city and separate families. As an adult, living in a world in which “Build a Wall” is a daily refrain in the political landscape, I recognize my responsibility to better understand how the Berlin Wall in its various forms developed and ultimately why the wall was destroyed. I highly recommend making the time to see the Berlin Wall Memorial.
