Can You Still See the Remnants of the Berlin Wall?
The Wall of Berlin a divider of even during the Cold War and a reunion of the two parts of the city of Berlin between the years 1961 and 1989. Despite the fact the most parts of the wall was knocked down together with the reunification of Germany in 1989, today there are several sites where you can find traces of this creation. In this article, some of these sites will be described and it will be possible to understand the consequences of the Berlin Wall even after years of its demolition.
1. East Side Gallery
East Side Gallery is the longest preserved piece of the wall that extends to 1.3 kilometers in length. When the wall came down, artists from all over the world came here with paint cans and paint rollers and painted murals on the segments of the wall. Today it is an international symbol of liberty and contains more than a hundred paintings giving their vision of the division as well as unification of Germany.
2. Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie was one of the key places of crossing between East and West Berlin in the context of Cold War. However, as for the original guardhouse has been reconstructed, there are some fragments of the walls preserved in the vicinity, as well as an open-air museum. The exhibit therefore explores this aspect of the checkpoint and gives information regarding East Germans’ efforts toward attempting to cross to the western side.
3. The Berlin Wall Memorial
The Berlin Wall Memorial is an informative centre designed to help visitors get deeper insight of the wall. The border section here is preserved as a historical site and you may visit a border’s documentation center and an open air exhibit. It is highly recommended to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial in order to stand before the embodied result and consequences of the division and also realize what people had to go through in the times of Cold War.
4. Topography of Terror
A vivid manifestation of Nazi past and East German secret police is the museum called “The Topography of Terror”, located on the former grounds of a SS headquarters. Though not exclusively dedicated to the non traces of the Berlin Wall, this museum gives the viewer a good sense of the historical events that led to the construction of the barrier and the division of the city.
5. Berlin Wall Documentation Center
The historic site that attracts tourist to Berlin is the Berlin Wall Documentary Center specifically in Bernauer Strasse where you can find so much information and memorabilia about the wall. The place has a large open area with fragments of the actual wall and a short segment of the frontier defenses. Specific tools and stories help making the visitors better comprehend the effect of the wall on the city and its people.
Conclusion
Although there are no longer any visible remnants of the Wall in operation, there still remain basic memories and memorials. There are the East Side Gallery, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall Memorial, the Topography of Terror, and the Berlin Wall Documentation Centre which provide an insight of what Ber linguists went through during the period of the Cold War. It is also instructive to note that through these sites we are able to get an understandable history about the existence of Berlin Wall and its implication hence the need to maintain unity and freedom.
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