# Saving the Berlin Wall



## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*18 years on, Berlin tries to save crumbling remains of Wall *

BERLIN, Nov 8, 2007 (AFP) - Eighteen years after the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, Germans are battling to preserve the last remnants of a barrier that still haunts the country. 

"At first, everybody was overjoyed that the Wall fell. Then a lot of people became irritated that it could disappear without trace," said Johannes Cramer, an expert in the history of architecture at Berlin's Technical University. 

Of the 155 kilometres (96 miles) of grey concrete that surrounded West Berlin for 28 years, only three kilometres in total is still standing. 

Just five empty watchtowers look out over the city, compared to 302 manned by guards with their finger on the trigger in 1989. 

"It is too late to change the fact that things disappeared in the years that followed the fall of the Wall," said Stefan Jacobs, a journalist at the daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. 

"But we absolutely have to preserve what is still standing to be able to tell the history of Berlin." 

This is not as simple as it sounds, as the uncertain fate of Berlin's famed "East Side Gallery" shows. 

The Gallery, a 1.3-kilometre-long reinforcement that was built directly behind the Wall, is covered with paintings by 118 artists from around the world that document the tumultuous emotions that marked the end of Germany's division. 

One of the most famous works captures Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and the long-time leader of East Germany's communist regime Eric Honecker sharing a passionate kiss. 

But the concrete slabs running along the Spree river, which are a national monument and a tourist magnet, are crumbling under the onslaught of the weather, pollution, graffiti artists and plain neglect. 

It was partly restored in 2000, but the damage is now so far advanced that the section of the wall will have to be rebuilt from scratch. 

Most of the artists whose paintings grace the wall have agreed to help, but the project has been postponed until 2008 for lack of funding. 

The city's authorities have earmarked 1.3 million euros (1.8 million dollars) but the project will cost another two million euros. 

Some commentators put this down to a lamentable lack of will to save the remains of the Wall, while funding pours in for a project to rebuild the city's Hohenzollern Castle, the one-time residence of Prussian kings and German kaisers that was blown up by the communists in 1950. 

So far some 480 million euros have been raised to build a replica of the 17th century baroque castle in the heart of Berlin. 

"If one can collect hundreds of millions of euros to rebuild a palace which nobody remembers, one can find a few million to save paintings that people around the world know well and come to Berlin to see," Jacobs said. 

A few kilometres from the East Side Gallery, near the Nordbahnhof station, a section of the wall has been torn down to make space for a volleyball court. 

"This is how it goes with the Berlin Wall. Even those sections that have been declared national monuments, are not respected," Jacobs said. 

At Bornholmer Strasse, the site of the border crossing where the first crack opened in the Wall on that cold November night in 1989, a small section of the interior wall has been left standing. 

But visitors have to look long and hard to locate a memorial plaque indicating that it was here that East Berliners were allowed to cross to the West for the first time since 1961. 

The point has been made by numerous commentators that visitors do not come to Berlin in their millions to see castles, be they real or replicas, but because they remain fascinated by the recent past of the city and the Wall. 

"Are we in the East or in the West?" goes the eternal question asked by tourists. 

And nearly 20 years after the fall of the Wall, they continue to take home small chunks of concrete certified to have been a piece of the Cold War icon for 100 euros.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)




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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Guide helps tourists track down remains of Berlin Wall *
By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER, Associated Press Writer
Fri Apr 25, 3:30 PM ET

It can be hard to find what remains of the Berlin Wall, a divisive landmark that for 28 years split the German capital and an entire generation.

But history buffs wanting to see the last vestiges of the iconic symbol of east versus west no longer have to consult old maps or seek out guidebooks. A new multimedia guide offers individualized walking tours connecting the key points where the 103-mile-long wall once stood.

The hand-sized minicomputer, commissioned by the city government and to be introduced May 1, is linked to global positioning satellites mapping the wall's former path.

Boasting a headset and a touch-screen, it features a colorful map of the city that can zoom in and out, showing the users where they are. The route of the former barrier between East and West Germany is marked in red while a yellow line guides the visitor from one wall section to the next, calculating the distances via GPS in meters.

"With the help of this guide, we finally have an answer to the most often asked question: Where was the wall?" Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit told reporters as he introduced the new gadget this week.

Most of the wall was torn down after Communist East Germany collapsed and the border was opened in 1989.

A city project to mark the wall's path through Berlin is scheduled for completion by 2011, the 50th anniversary of the wall's construction.

Apart from guiding tourists from one wall memorial to the next — among them the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the mural-covered East Side Gallery — the digital assistant gives information about 22 historically significant spots along the wall's route.

Audio files and video documentaries give an overview of the wall's dramatic Cold War history, starting on Aug. 13, 1961, when East Germany began building the barrier to wall off the capitalist enclave of West Berlin in a bid to stop a westward exodus from the communist state.

At a memorial for the people killed while trying to escape across the barrier, users can click an icon that lets them see and hear Juergen Litfin talk about the death of his brother Guenter — shot by border guards Aug. 24, 1961 and said to be the first of at least 125 people killed trying to make the perilous crossing.

Passing through the Brandenburg Gate, users can listen to and watch U.S. President Ronald Reagan peering over the wall as he made his famous 1987 speech challenging then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!"

Starting on May 1, the wall guides can be rented at five booths throughout the city. They cost between $9.50 and $24 depending on how long visitors want to keep them.

The "Walk the Wall" guide comes in German and English, but manufacturer Antenna Audio is planning to offer it in other languages as well.

It took a team of historians and computer experts one year and $797,000 to develop the current software, said Rosemarie Wirthmueller, Antenna Audio's managing director for Europe, but there now are no concrete plans to use similar GPS-connected devices in other cities.

___

On the Net:

http://www.mauerguide.com

http://www.antennaudio.com


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Source : http://www.pbase.com/pompeygreg/berlin_2007&page=2


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## Kikab (Oct 9, 2005)

I dont agree with the idea of maintain the remainig walls. They should be tear down. What they can do is only to mark in the streets as a reference the place were the walls use to be.


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

I agree, As a German-American, the last thing I want to be reminded of is the division of my family's homeland and the almost four decades of crap that followed the builting of the wall in 1961. Haven't the German people suffered enough?!?! Its bad enough in the minds of some people Germany will always equal Nazi's. Why add this to the list. Tear it down and dump the remains in the sea!


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## kato2k8 (May 4, 2008)

As someone who still saw the Wall when it stood... seriously, it's a shame how they're treating her. Especially those rather pitiful small pieces in those pictures.

They should at the very least keep up that 100m stretch that's still standing (as a museum currently). Preferably more.


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## el casanovas (Jun 1, 2008)

Chadoh25 said:


> I agree, As a German-American, the last thing I want to be reminded of is the division of my family's homeland and the almost four decades of crap that followed the builting of the wall in 62. Haven't the German people suffered enough?!?! Its bad enough in the minds of some people Germany will always equal Nazi's. Why add this to the list. Tear it down and dump the remains in the sea!


:crazy:


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

el casanovas said:


> :crazy:



Ummm Okay then..... thats retarded :stupid:


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## el casanovas (Jun 1, 2008)

^^

History is not to be forgotten. Plus the fact that those parts of the wall mean what they mean adds an extra dimension to their artistic side. I think tearing the remains down would be barbaric.

No offence intended, but I really found your dramatic tone to be sort of hilarious. (I'm sorry if that offends you, I wouldn't like to!)


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

It's really, really, REALLY, ugly but whatever.


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

No worries. I tend to be passionate about this subject. Your right, history should not be forgotten. However, I think we can remember history without having the wall. The wall is a painful reminder of one of the less then glorious parts of our History and Lord knows we have plenty of monuments and memorials that do that already. What would be best would be to replace the wall with something positive, something that is needed and something that Germans can be proud of. Why must we suffer "Monuments" that do nothing other than cost the tax payers and contribute to a feeling of guilt and shame!


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## el casanovas (Jun 1, 2008)

Chadoh25 said:


> No worries. I tend to be passionate about this subject. Your right, history should not be forgotten. However, I think we can remember history without having the wall. The wall is a painful reminder of one of the less then glorious parts of our History and Lord knows we have plenty of monuments and memorials that do that already. What would be best would be to replace the wall with something positive, something that is needed and something that Germans can be proud of. Why must we suffer "Monuments" that do nothing other than cost the tax payers and contribute to a feeling of guilt and shame!


That's OK. I guess it's not up to me to decide whether you Germans feel guilt and shame about this.
k:


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

hkskyline said:


>



"The first gap in the Berlin Wall was at this place in 1989"

(Written on the top of the wall piece)


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## channel (Apr 24, 2008)

for history's sake parts of the wall needs to be preserved


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## BobDaBuilder (Jun 7, 2005)

Hacked off a bit myself back in 1996, just near where Hitler's bunker used to be located.

I'll mail it back to you if you want. I've heard that the Easterners don't like the Westerners so maybe you can rebuild the wall piece by piece.

I asked some people nearby if they would mind and they told me to help myself. They wanted to forget it was ever there.

Don't you think this 'nostalgia' is a bit much. Communism was nightmare.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

We should preserve and learn from the goods and bads of our history.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*German politician wants Cold War museum at Checkpoint Charlie *
20 June 2008

BERLIN (AP) - A politician who served as East Germany's last foreign minister is proposing building a comprehensive Cold War museum at one of the most famous flash points of the decades-long East-West standoff -- Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie.

"We need a museum to explain the Cold War's significance," Markus Meckel, a lawmaker with the governing Social Democrats, told The Associated Press. "And nowhere was more significant in that conflict than Checkpoint Charlie."

Meckel -- a pastor and opposition activist under communist rule -- served as foreign minister in East Germany's first and only freely elected government, which helped pave the way for German reunification in its few months in office in 1990.

Earlier this week, former Czech President Vaclav Havel and John Kornblum, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany, backed Meckel's idea in a letter to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Kornblum told the AP that the team is looking for funding. It also is urging Berlin city officials to include the museum in development plans for two vacant lots on what was once the eastern side of Checkpoint Charlie, divided Berlin's most famous border crossing.

"Berlin was ground zero for the Cold War," Kornblum said by telephone from New York. "It's a cornerstone of this whole great history of a continent nearly destroying itself and then putting itself back together. For generations to come people will want to understand that."

A city spokesman for cultural issues, Torsten Woehlert, said previous plans for the site included museum space, but the property has since changed ownership.

"We are negotiating for new developers to also include space for a museum or memorial that recognizes the international significance of the wall," Woehlert said.

A panel of academics is drawing up a concept for that, Woehlert said Friday, and it will consider Meckel's proposal for a Cold War museum.

But the owner of an existing museum at the checkpoint -- where U.S. and Soviet tanks dramatically faced off after East Germany sealed its border by building the Berlin Wall in 1961 -- adamantly opposes the project.

"This is a place of freedom, a place to remember victims," said Alexandra Hildebrandt, whose husband opened the Wall Museum at Checkpoint Charlie in 1962. "Its connection to the Cold War is not nearly as relevant."

The former border crossing, in the heart of downtown Berlin, has become a must-see for tourists. After having pictures snapped with people dressed as American and Russian soldiers, many of them pay the euro12.50 (US$19.30) admission charge to walk through two floors filled with Cold War-era documents and memorabilia in Hildebrandt's museum.

The vacant lots where Meckel is proposing the museum are currently fenced off by tall wooden walls covered with an illustrated timeline of events in Cold War Berlin.

Meckel believes it would be better to replace that temporary exhibit with a museum that connects the checkpoint's history to the conflict's global impact.

"It wasn't just a division of Germany, it was a division of Europe and the world," Meckel said. "Our basic concept is for a museum not just devoted to the meaning of the wall, but the meaning the Cold War had everywhere."


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## Jim856796 (Jun 1, 2006)

Why should we preserve the Berlin Wall. It was a barrier that split a great city in two. Was the Berlin Wall a terrible thing?


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

Jim856796 said:


> Why should we preserve the Berlin Wall. It was a barrier that split a great city in two. Was the Berlin Wall a terrible thing?



The Berlin Wall was an important part of german history. You can't wipe out this 
era by demolishing the last remains of the wall.
We need them as a memorial.


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## Alphaville (Nov 28, 2007)

Matthew Lowry said:


> I want that wall to be down its shows a dark history in Germany. As myself a German i hate that wall. BERLIN CITY GOVERMENT TEARDOWN THAT WALL LOTS OF PEOPLE HATE THAT WALL.


Lots of people hate you, too. Doesn't mean we want to tear you down. Just like the Berlin Wall, you represent something very terrible and awful. And just like the Berlin Wall, we don't want to tear you down. Matthew Lowry (oops, sorry, The Wall) should be left as a reminder of how sick, sad, and terrible humanity can be.


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## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

Alphaville said:


> Lots of people hate you, too. Doesn't mean we want to tear you down. Just like the Berlin Wall, you represent something very terrible and awful. And just like the Berlin Wall, we don't want to tear you down. Matthew Lowry (oops, sorry, The Wall) should be left as a reminder of how sick, sad, and terrible humanity can be.


Another twisted aspect of this "push to leave the Wall steading" is that historic monuments are usually left or constructed either to celebrate victories and achievements (like the Paris' arcs) or to remember foreign oppression or tragedies.

The Berlin Wall, I might say, was constructed pretty much against the will of Germans, who by then were not even in charge of their capital. So turning it down sounds reasonable, as many Germans would likely thing of it as a shame, a physical representation of foreign occupation.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Source and more : http://www.pbase.com/annapagnacco/_dancing_to_freedom____east_berlin_wall


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Travel Postcard - 48 hours in Berlin*

BERLIN, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Got 48 hours to spare in Berlin? The city which proudly bares the scars of the turbulent 20th century history it overcame to become a political and creative powerhouse, bang in the centre of Europe, has a lot to offer.

Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors get the most out of a visit to the German capital, this year celebrating 20 years since reunification:

FRIDAY

6 p.m - Berlin has always been a cultural hub so spend your first evening in the historic Jewish quarter of Berlin, home to countless galleries, boutiques and bars.

Start on Oranienburgerstrasse with a visit to Kunsthaus Tacheles -- a ruined department store that is now an artists' squat. Tacheles is just one of many forums for alternative culture in Berlin facing eviction from quirky historical properties which property developers want to spruce up. So check it out now -- before it's too late.

Further down the street, take a moment to admire the golden dome of the Moorish-style New Synagogue, before cutting through a courtyard to reach Auguststrasse, famed for its art galleries and array of international cuisine.

8 p.m. - Have dinner either at Kasbah, a cosy, Moroccan restaurant with Oriental decor serving a delicious lamb-prune tagine; or Monsieur Vuong, famous for its funky vibe, Vietnamese dishes and fruit smoothies.

10 p.m. - Then head to Claerchens Ballhaus, a timeless institution dating back to 1913. People of all ages come to the ballroom seven days a week to dance under a massive disco ball. Don't forget to check out the elegantly dilapidated mirror salon upstairs, harking back to a bygone era of glamour.

SATURDAY

10 a.m. - Get a feeling today for the difference between former Communist east Berlin and west Berlin, which were separated for nearly 30 years by an "anti-fascist protection barrier" that became the symbol of the Cold War.

Start in Friederichshain, a working-class eastern district strewn with bulky Communist buildings that has changed much less since 1989 than the gentrified historic city centre.

Have a hearty (and cheap, very cheap) brunch at one of the many cafes peppered around Simon-Dach-Strasse before heading to the weekly market on Boxhagener Platz.

*12 p.m. - Next, stroll down to the East Side Gallery, the largest remaining section of the Berlin Wall which was painted with murals by 118 artists from 22 countries in 1990.

Many of the gallery's 106 murals were inspired by the collapse of communism -- keep a look out for one of the most famous, the "Brotherly Kiss", showing former East German leader Erich Honecker kissing ex-Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.*

2 p.m. - In the afternoon, head west across the border. The first stop is the appropriately named Kaufhaus des Westens (department store of the west), or KaDeWe -- Berlin's answer to London's Harrods and Paris' Galeries Lafayette.

The highlight of KaDeWe is its gourmet food department, boasting some 3,400 different wines and more than 1,300 cheeses.

Then hit the shops on Kurfuerstendamm. If you visit during Advent, Berlin's famous Christmas markets will be up and running, with mulled wine and roasted nuts aplenty.

4 p.m. - Finally, walk down to the Gedaechtniskirche (Memorial Church), a church that was bombed out in World War Two and was preserved in its ruined state to symbolise the folly of war.

6 p.m. - Grab a bite at one of the bustling restaurants around Savigny Platz then hop in a cab to the Philharmonie to attend a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra, one of the world's most prestigious and conducted by Britain's Simon Rattle.

SUNDAY:

Spend a day walking around Berlin's historic centre, tracing the many layers of its turbulent past.

10 a.m. - Start at Alexanderplatz, a vast square in East Berlin famous for its landmark Fernsehturm (television tower). Then walk down past the giant statues of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, over the Spree river onto the "Museum Island".

Pay a visit to one of the many internationally renowned museums, such as the Neues Museum which was restored and reopened last year, and is full of famous antiquities such as a bust of the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti.

12 p.m. - Carry on down the majestic Unter den Linden avenue, past the Humboldt University, the State Opera House and the plush Hotel Adlon Kempinski -- where the late singer Michael Jackson dangled his infant son out of a third-floor window.

Stop off for lunch at Cafe Einstein along the way, or at restaurant Theodor Tucher on Pariser Platz by the Brandenburg Gate -- a square that was flattened during the war and became a No Man's Land during the division of Germany.

Don't be fooled by the boxy facade of some of the buildings on the square - check out the interior of DZ Bank, designed by star architect Frank Gehry. In the atrium, a bulging filigree roof and a curved glass floor bring to mind an enormous fish.

2 p.m. - Pass through the Brandenburg Gate and turn left to the Holocaust Memorial -- a monument to Jewish victims of the Holocaust made of 2,711 huge slabs visitors can wander through.

Then head to Potsdamer Platz area, where what was once a tract of wasteland near the Wall has become a web of futuristic buildings housing business and entertainment complexes.

4 p.m. - Walk to the revamped Reichstag parliament building with its glass dome designed by British architect Norman Foster.

Skip queues by booking a table at the roof restaurant in advance and taking their private lift to enjoy "Kaffee und Kuchen" (coffee and cake) with a panoramic view over Berlin.


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

The wall should be preserved to remember this dark period in the history of the city:


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## nr23Derek (May 13, 2009)

Yes, it's entirely understandable that the Berlin people wanted to destroy the hated wall, of course it is. But it is also very important to preserve it in some way because it is a part of all of our histories, and we should never forget our history.

The thing that makes Berlin special is it's history - not just the wall but all of it going right back hundreds of years. The last century was especially important for the city's development though and so much of what formed the 20th century has left its mark on Berlin.

The only bit of the complete wall is a sanitised remnant of what used to be










The wall at Bemauer St in 1981









And the "preserved section" today. Where are the tank traps, the trip wires and all the rest?

In other areas a different type of monument is left









In some ways this is more fitting than the sanitised section above - this young woodland used to be the death strip. The rest of Bemauer St is being turned into a park and that's fine as well.

Either way, the legacy really should be preserved.

Derek


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*1,378 Kilometers*
By: Emily Welsch
Posted: 10/13/10
http://www.thebottomlineonline.org/...Story_id=1d9b52d7-584a-4ab2-8afb-1e2724f58d99

On August 13th, 1961, West Berlin was cut off from East Berlin and the surrounding East Germany by the finished construction of the Berlin Wall. It was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR), and featured a number of defensive elements. Guard towers lined the high concrete walls, surrounding a large area known as the death strip that was outfitted with trenches that would keep out any vehicles.

Despite the "official" reason for the wall's existence, protecting the people of the Soviet controlled "Eastern Bloc" (Communist states of Eastern and Central Europe) from fascism, the truth was it only served to keep defecting citizens from escaping. Many such people hoping to leave the GDR attempted to do so by escaping over the Berlin wall, and between 1961 and 1989, the wall prevented almost all of these attempts.

Now, while many of these more specific details may not be common knowledge worldwide, there is no doubt that the Berlin Wall is well known as a tragic marker in history. This is especially so for the relatives of those that were killed attempting to escape over the wall, whose families and lives were torn apart in the process. As painful as it may be, it is necessary to remember tragedies when they happen, to ensure that they will never happen again. The phrase is, "Never Forget."

This year, a German student, 23 year old Jens Stober, who was working on a project for credit towards his university degree, created a video game that recreates these events, in an effort to let players better understand the events surrounding the Berlin Wall by "living them."

"Becoming an East German escapee or border guard enables players to identify with these figures," Stober said . "It's a novel way of encouraging young people to take an interest in coming to terms with recent German history."

While the game may have been created with an educational aspect in mind, the Federal Foundation for the Reconciliation of the Communist Dictatorship, doubts that young people will be doing anything other than playing a video game when they purchase it. The spokesman for the Foundation, Dietrich Wolf, stated that "ultimately it's just an ego-shooter game, which is unacceptable given the historical context."

The game, titled "1378" (the length in kilometers, of the border between East and West Germany during the Cold War), allows players to become a border guard, and win medals for shooting a high number of escapees - who then, in the year 2000, go on trial for the murders they participated in under orders from the East German Communist regime.

Players can also become an East German fugitive, trying to escape over the Berlin wall - if they fail, they are either shot, or arrested. It is easy to see where the educational part of this game comes in, not only with the ability to assume the roles of both sides of the tragedy, (with exquisite realism of attitude, including the medals awarded to the border guards and the punishments for attempted escapees) but it may be a little harsh on the families that had to deal with the real events. Stober told press that "In the game, you ask yourself: 'What would I do?' You may come to the conclusion that you would not shoot at your fellow countrymen and women." Regardless of feelings for or against the game, it was certainly created with good intentions. © Copyright 2010 The Bottom Line


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Source : http://www.pbase.com/peterkwok/07euberlinwall


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

By *oldboy* from photofans.cn :































































































































 Original Link


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## frashp2 (Jan 25, 2011)

It should preserve it and not to CHANGE its peace how it is supposed to be.


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