The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a physical barrier that divided East and West Berlin from August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989.  It also served as a symbolic division between democracy and Communism during the Cold War. 

The Berlin Wall was erected to keep East Germans from fleeing to the West.  While the barricade was physically powerful, it didn’t prevent news from getting into East Germany by way of smuggled messages.

Until recently, I never realized that many sections of the Berlin Wall have been given to various institutions since its fall in 1989.  One of these can be found on E. 53^rd Street in New York City, between Madison and Fifth Avenues.

Thierry Noir and Kiddy Citny painted these five sections in September 1985 along the Waldemarstrasse in Berlin Kreuzberg.

Though I have no memory of the Berlin Wall’s erection, I vividly recall the celebratory emotion of its fall in 1989.