Exactly thirty-one years to the day, a decision that would change the fate of history took place. Rewinding back to the cold 1989 evening, thousands of people gathered, carrying with them hammers and picks to chip away and crash an iron curtain erected under the dictatorship of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The division brought to the people living on both sides was felt not only in Berlin, but far beyond, with a long-standing legacy as the global and powerful symbol between East & West. On this day the Berlin wall crumbled & ignited the beginning of the end to the cold war.
While I was participating in the Erasmus study-abroad program, I made it a big point to take the opportunity to visit Berlin. From the first few minutes of my arrival, I was very impressed with Berlin and fell in love with this beautiful city and its imposing history. We made the trip to Berlin in December so we could visit their annual mega-Christmas market, but I’ll leave that story to another time...
Why was the Berlin wall built ? A pair of Allied peace conferences in decided the fate of Germany's territory as World War II came to an end in 1945. The defeated nation was divided into four "allied occupation zones": the Soviet Union controlled the eastern part while the United States , Great Britain and (later) France controlled the western part. The life of West Berlin, a prominently capitalist city deep inside communist East Germany, "stuck like a bone in the Soviet throat," as Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev put it. This was unacceptable to the soviets at the time and they made daring efforts to drive the western allies out of the city for good.
Before the wall was built, Berliners on both sides of the city could move around fairly freely: They crossed the East-West border to work, to shop, to go to the theater and the movies. Trains and subway lines carried passengers back and forth.
The Communist government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) began construction of a barbed wire clad concrete "Antifascistischer Schutzwall" between East and West Berlin. The official aim of the Berlin Wall was to prevent the entry of Western "fascists" into East Germany and to overthrow the socialist state, but it worked mainly to reduce mass immigration from East to West. In just two weeks, the East German army, police force and volunteer construction workers had completed a makeshift barbed wire and concrete block wall–the Berlin Wall–that divided one side of the city from the other.
After the wall was built, it became impossible to get from East to West Berlin except through one of three checkpoints: at Helmstedt (“Checkpoint Alpha” in American military parlance), at Dreilinden (“Checkpoint Bravo”) and in the center of Berlin at Friedrichstrasse (“Checkpoint Charlie”). (Eventually, the GDR built 12 checkpoints along the wall.) At each of the checkpoints, East German soldiers screened diplomats and other officials before they were allowed to enter or leave. Except under special circumstances, travelers from East and West Berlin were rarely allowed across the border. As conditions in the East deteriorated over the decades many East Germans had been looking to the unreachable West in desperate longing, hoping that one day they could escape.
Escaping the wall After a string of escape attempts by East Germans, some successful and others not so successful…
Soon a more permanent barrier was erected by Berlin. The 27-mile- long wall was originally two walls with a “no man's land” in between, known as the "death strip" .Equipped with landmines, assault dogs and barbed wire, and constantly patrolled by East German troops ready to fire and kill any escapee, most East Berliners were scared to remain. In total around 5,000 of them crossed the Berlin Wall at great personal risk. As the barriers were strengthened and intensified so did the efforts to escape. Desperation initiated creativity. People were thinking of every possibility to escape and pass through the barrier in one way or another, tunnels, tightrope, zip line, ultra light planes
According to the Berlin Wall Memorial, 140 people died on the Berlin Wall or were killed there in connection with the border. Another 251 travelers have died before or after crossing border checkpoints. "unknown numbers of people have lived and died in pain and misery in their personal lives as a result of the building of the Berlin Wall."
What led to its fall Did you know that the wall fell actually by accident ? The wall collapsed partially due to a bureaucratic mistake, but fell in the middle of a series of protests that left the Soviet led communist bloc on the verge of collapse.
East German officials have sought to ease up demonstrations by loosening barriers, making travel possible for East Germans. They didn't want to open the border entirely. The changes were meant to be relatively minor-but the way they were delivered had major consequences. Notes on the new rules were handed to the spokesperson, Günter Schabowski who had little time to read them until his daily press conference. The reporters were shocked when he first read the note aloud.
"Private travel outside the country can now be applied for without any preconditions," he said. Surprised journalists crying out for more information. Shuffling through his notes, Mr. Schabowski said that, as far as he was aware, it was in immediate effect. However, it was scheduled to begin the next day, with specifics of applying for a visa. But the news was all over the TV-and East Germans flocked to the border in large numbers. The images of people celebrating together on both sides of the border flashed across the world, poignantly marking the end of German division
Checkpoint Charlie 6 things about the famous checkpoint Charlie :
Only foreigners were allowed to cross through it.
It sat just a few feet away from a much larger East German checkpoint.
It was the site of several daring escapes by East Germans
It was the scene of an infamous showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union
It was occasionally used for prisoner swaps
East Germans flooded through its gates during the fall of the Berlin Wall
This is surly a site not to miss if you are visiting Berlin. The street is flanked on both sides with flags from one side to another. You can take a photo with the guards together with the replica of the sign that once stood at checkpoint Charlie. A replica version of the guardhouse was also installed on Friedrichstrasse .
What remains today The Berlin Wall, a former symbol of division, is now the world’s largest open-air gallery, featuring 105 murals by artists from across the globe, such as the popular ‘Fraternal Kiss’ amongst others.
I will never forget the feeling I felt when visiting the famous 360 degrees panorama of the Berlin wall created accurately by the fantastic Yadegar Asisi. As you stand before this striking piece of art, staring & listening to melancholic music composed by Eric Babak and original speeches from politicians at that time, you can feel the heavy atmosphere. As you try to capture every part of this panorama, rotating your head from side to side you feel so small and wonder & contemplate just for a second how the people at that time felt. This exhibition is found just opposite checkpoint Charlie.
Yadegar Asisi decided to focus on the environment and day-to-day life of the Berlin 1980s in the shadows of the Berlin Wall, where division had become a natural part of living in the city. In THE WALL, Asisi, who grew up in the GDR and lived in West Berlin after 1978, consolidates his daily experiences in divided Berlin into a snapshot of the mood that is then projected on a wide scale.
How those this historical episode apply today ? "Forget not the tyranny of this wall… nor the love of freedom that made it fall " unknown graffiti on the berlin wall
When you stop and think, reflect on this great historical event I think of the ironic life we live. These people fought hard and lived a life of sacrifice yet we have all the freedom in the world, to move from one place to another yet we constantly build invisible walls every single day between ourselves, whether it is the way we differentiate ourselves from others from the way we dress, the way we talk, the way we try to live, creating labels and gaps and levels in society. Just from a simple look one can build such a thick barrier. During this pandemic masks have taken over our facial expressions adding on another layer to our façade. All we have left are gestures, expressions through the use of our eyes and most importantly our words. Let us not change the freedom that we are said to have gained and that we have be just a word in void. Let us not create ranks but try to be kind to one another, appreciate the freedom we have.
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