20 Years Fall of the Wall Your 2008 Planner www.berlin-tourism.de 20 Years since the Fall of the Wall – 20 Years since the Peaceful Revolution The Berlin Wall, symbol of the division of Berlin and Germany and the Cold War, finally came down on 9 November 1989. The construction of the Berlin Wall on 13 August 1961 led to the partitioning of East and West Germany and West Berlin’s encirclement by the Wall. Hundreds of people lost their lives on the border trying to escape from East to West. Following an escalation of protests at the end of the 1980s, the border crossings were opened on 9 November 1989. That night and over the next few days, millions celebrated across the city: Berliners from East and West and visitors from across the world joyously embraced each other. The peaceful revolution had triumphed and reunited the people of Germany. Berlin has changed dramatically since the fall of the Wall and German reunification: the two halves of the city have once again merged as one, historic buildings have been restored and whole new districts and magnificent buildings have emerged. In 2009 Berlin will celebrate the 20 th anniversary of this unique revolution, which succeeded in tearing down the divide between two states without a single shot being fired. Show your clients around the city and let them discover the highs and lows of its unique history! We have compiled the following information to help you plan your itinerary during your stay in Berlin. Traces of the Wall around Berlin Editorial: Berliner Forum für Geschichte und Gegenwart e.V., www.bfgg.de Design: Büro Helga Lieser, Friedrichstraße 217, 10969 Berlin, Tel: +49 (0)30 – 25 92 44 75 Your Berlin Tourism Partner! www.berlin-tourism.de Berlin Wall Route A trip along the Berlin Wall Route provides an in-depth look at this chapter of German history, which your clients can either discover on their own or on a guided tour. Whether on foot or by bike, the 18-kilometre stretch of specially-developed cycling and hiking paths will take them on a journey past the remaining traces of the wall. Memorials, remnants of the Wall, a few remaining border watchtowers and information boards with photographs are dotted along the path where the Wall once stood, and bear testimony to its history. Your clients can also take this opportunity to visit the most important sights of the city. We have compiled a small selection of sites where traces of the Wall are still visible today. East Side Gallery During Berlin’s years as a divided city, the western side of the Wall was a favourite spot for graffiti. The most famous graffiti artists have now immortalized their work on the eastern side of the longest surviving section of the Wall. The world’s largest open-air gallery was opened on 28 September 1990 between Ostbahnhof and Oberbaumbrücke. www.eastsidegallery-berlin.de Mauerpark (Wall Park) The Mauerpark, situated next to Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, incorporates remnants of the Wall in a park setting, where graffiti artists can spray away to their heart’s delight. Bernauer Straße/Eberswalder Straße www.mauerpark.info Topography of Terror Excavations and a documentation centre tell the story of the Gestapo, the SS and the Reich Security Main Office. The open-air exhibition, which includes a stretch of the Wall, is situated in the area between the street formerly known as Prinz-Albrecht-Straße (today Niederkirchner Straße) Anhalter Straße and Wilhelmstraße. www.topographie.de White Crosses memorial site/Wall memorial in Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus The GDR’s border fortifications ran along the eastern side of the Reichstag building (today home to the German Bundestag). White crosses have been placed on this site today as a reminder of its past. The Wall memorial in the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus is situated directly opposite, on the other side of the river Spree. This memorial site houses original wall segments, which have been inscribed with the years and the number of recorded victims during that particular year. www.visitBerlin.de/wall Schlesischer Busch Watchtower Headquarters Schlesischer Busch Watchtower, located on the border between Kreuzberg and Treptow, was constructed in 1963 during the expansion of the border security facilities as the headquarters for 18 further observation towers. Today, the tower is home to the “Museum der Verbotenen Kunst” (Museum of Forbidden Art). www.visitBerlin.de/wall Your Berlin Tourism Partner! www.berlin-tourism.de Berlin Wall Information Columns A network of 3.6-metre information columns marks the route where the wall once wove its way through the city centre. The square columns are fitted with information windows, which recount the history of each site using maps, graphics, texts, photos and audio material in eight different languages. The columns can be found at the following locations: • Potsdamer Platz/Ebertstraße • The former border crossing at Bornholmer Straße • Bernauerstraße/Berlin Wall Memorial • Ebertstraße/German Bundestag • Niederkirchnerstraße • Checkpoint Charlie • East Side Gallery • Nordbahnhof • Oberbaumbrücke • Hauptbahnhof • The Brandenburg Gate To find out more, go to: www.visitBerlin.de/wall Permanent Exhibitions on the Divided City and the Fall of the Wall in Berlin’s Museums Allied Museum The museum, situated in the American army’s former “Outpost” cinema, documents the role of the Western powers during the post-war period and the life of allied troops in Berlin. www.alliiertenmuseum.de DDR Museum Berlin The DDR Museum Berlin presents a lively, interactive and fascinating account of everyday life in the GDR, taking visitors on a unique journey through East Germany’s socialist past. www.ddr-museum.de German-Russian Museum Berlin-Karlshorst This museum documents the end of the Second World War and the fall of the National Socialist regime at the historic spot where the events took place. www.museum-karlshorst.de German Historical Museum Featuring the permanent exhibition “German History in Images and Testimonials” in the Zeughaus. www.dhm.de Märkisches Museum Featuring the permanent exhibition “...schaut auf diese Stadt!” (Look at this city!), which recounts Berlin’s history and cultural legacy from Medieval times to the present day. www.stadtmuseum.de Berlin Wall Museum Houses a permanent exhibition on the history of the Berlin Wall and on the international campaign for human rights. www.mauermuseum.de Your Berlin Tourism Partner! www.berlin-tourism.de Stasi Museum The former headquarters of the Ministry for State Security are today home to a research and memorial centre examining the political system of the GDR. www.stasimuseum.de The Story of Berlin Interactive exhibition, featuring 23 themed rooms equipped with state-of-the-art multi- media technology and walk-in sets, recounts the city’s evolution from its foundation until the present day. www.story-of-berlin.de Berlin Wall Documentation Centre Forms part of the memorial site ensemble at Bernauer Straße. www.berliner-mauer-dokumentationszentrum.de The Berlin Hohenschönhausen Memorial In 1994, the central remand prison of the Ministry for State Security was transformed into a memorial centre. Former prisoners give guided tours around the prison and tell of prison conditions and interrogation methods practised by the GDR State Security. www.stiftung-hsh.de Information and Documentation Centre of the Federal Commissioner for the Files of the State Security Service of the Former GDR (IDZ) The federal commissioner’s information and documentation centre containing the records of the Ministry for State Security features the exhibition “Staatssicherheit – Machtinstrument der SED-Diktatur” (State Security – Instrument of Power for the SED Dictatorship), examining the activities of the GDR’s state security service. www.bstu.bund.de Marienfelde Refugee Centre Memorial Housed in the historic location of West Berlin’s former refugee centre, this memorial recalls the flight and emigration of countless Germans who left the East for the West. www.notaufnahmelager-berlin.de Bernauer Straße Berlin Wall Memorial Site Bernauer Straße was the setting of many a dramatic event during the construction of the Wall and the division of Berlin. The windows of the houses on the eastern side of the street were initially bricked up. Later on, an entire row of houses was demolished and trenches dug in preparation for the death strip. The images of East Germans escaping out of windows, or the People’s Police officer leaping over the barbed wire border into the West, which became famous the world over, were shot at Bernauer Straße. During the division, numerous underground tunnels were dug under the street by people who wanted to escape. All this and more is exhibited at the memorial site using a variety of different media. A short visit to the documentation centre will cover the most important aspects of the area’s history. A selection of films offers visitors insight into the Wall’s construction and the partitioning of the city up until the fall of the Wall in 1989. Multi-media stations provide a more in-depth look at its history. The memorial site also includes the “Chapel of Reconciliation”, a unique clay structure, built using the rubble of the original chapel, which was situated in the death strip after the construction of the Wall and therefore inaccessible to the public. In 1985 the church was demolished by border troops. The chapel has a book of the dead listing all those who were killed trying to escape, plus accounts of their life stories. Prayers are held from Tuesday to Friday at 12 p.m. in memory of the victims. Your Berlin Tourism Partner! www.berlin-tourism.de A central feature of the memorial site is the Berlin Wall Memorial, featuring an original piece of the death strip and an observation tower next to the documentation centre, which vividly conveys the physical division imposed by the Wall.