September 14

Day 3: September 14

History

Berlin Wall Memorial- History

Boxhagener Platz

Today, we woke up at 9:00 A.M. because there wasn't a large amount of traveling needed to arrive at our historical destination. This was the Berlin Wall Memorial. First, we ate a quick breakfast at the apartment, then met a taxi in the Boxhagener Platz. We didn't want to use a taxi, but the walk would have been an hour and twenty-one minutes. It was beautiful to drive down the streets of Germany, observing the vibrant colors, liveliness of the people, and hundreds of markets. Surprisingly, we didn't talk much because the sights took up our full attention. We finally arrived at the memorial and there were people surrounding every aspect of the wall.

Berlin Wall Memorial

It's incredible that such a prominent piece of history was built overnight on August 13, 1961! This wall was almost 12 feet and was the division between East and West Germany, separating families and loved ones. The main purpose of the wall was to keep East Germany free of the capitalist West Germany and to stop the passage of emigrants. It was impossible to get through except for numerous checkpoints: Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. Unless there was an important situation, Germans were not allowed through. As the years went on, the Soviets improved the sturdiness of the wall and formed the "Death Strip". The strip used sand to show footprints and consisted of lights, dangerous K-9's, deadly weapons, and soldiers. The soldiers were responsible for killing any person that tried to cross, and as a result of all these dangerous conditions 1,000 people died. I could see a tear stream down Grace's cheek as she read that fact, becoming aware of the brutality of the event. While this at first sounded to us as if no one could have gotten across, the memorial stated that over 5,000 Germans(East, 600 of those were border patrollers) successfully made it to the West. The ways they escaped seemed extremely clever, but also dangerous. For example, they drove cars through the less sturdy parts of the wall at a fast pace! That could have easily killed themselves from impact! The wall finally came down on November 9, 1989, and over two million people gathered to see its downfall. They celebrated with drinks, and repeated, "Tor auf!" meaning "Open the Gate!" Based on signs, some historians called this event, "the greatest street party in the history of the world," making us all happy that we got to experience such a profound piece of history. Hammers, axes, and bulldozers were all used to tear down the wall. I can imagine the joy in their minds as they chopped away for the purpose of deserved unification! Thinking of such a major split reminded me of the American Civil War where the North and South were divided. Thank goodness, through time and effort, we could unify, just as East and West Germany officially did on October 3, 1990.

Berlin Wall 

The memorial was beautiful, even though there was only 1.4 kilometers left of the actual strip. Sadly, the first thing we went to was the fatalities wall, where we learned about all the deaths that were caused. Reading off the names was hard, but we knew it was important to take the time to do so. We then took a quick stop at the Chapel of Reconciliation to say a few prayers in memory of those who died. I couldn't imagine how hard this must have been for those that have a strong connection to someone who perished at the border. Next, we went to the memorial grounds, which consisted of areas A-D. "A" was the wall and death strip where we learned about the harshness that the wall entailed, watched videos showing the reaction of the East and West to the separation, and learned how the wall's sturdiness developed over time. We then went to area "B" where we read about the tales of emigrants from the East to the West and saw some of the many escape routes. It was amazing to read about the story of a man who jumped out of a building to get to the west. It explained how the fire department in the West placed safety nets to ensure the survival of the escapee. That must have been extremely terrifying, but their desperation must have been too much to handle. Area "C" was what Logan found the most intriguing as she said, "it was interesting to learn about how the wall was built," and we all ultimately agreed with her. The wall was made out of a mass amount of concrete and barbed wire to border the top, it was made over night! That gave me chills, reminding me of the borders of concentration camps. As escapes continued to happen throughout areas of the wall, more and more fortifications were added or improved. We didn't spend much time at area "D" because Ellie was complaining that her legs were hurting and we thought it seemed like a summary of the other areas. Overall, the Berlin Wall was an amazing experience!

Brandenburg Gate- History

Café Frau Schneider

Rather than taking a cab, we decided to embark on a thirty-eight minute walk. We figured it was a way to experience the streets of Germany. On this route, we stayed on the LuisenstraBe road. We talked and noticed all of the interesting shops on the sides of the road. We stopped in one and Ella picked up a "Berlin" keychain to give to her mom. After about twenty minutes, we stopped at the Café Frau Schneider. This gave us a chance to rest our legs and fill up on food. We picked up some coffee (really only Logan and Grace did) and then picked out a variety of snacks. Since the menu was in German we had to ask for a lot of help when deciding what to pick. We all ended up getting these delicious smoothie bowls, then completed the last twenty minutes of the trip. We arrived at the Brandenburg Gate. The gate is considered the symbol of unity in Germany as it is where Ronald Reagan gave his speech saying, "Mr. Gorbachov -- tear down this wall!" Following the days of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, musicians gathered here, led by Leonard Bernstein, to celebrate the unification. We took our time at this memorial, taking thousands of photos and observing all angles of its beauty. Meanwhile, Grace took an hour nap because she claimed, "she was tired and needed to rest". We ate some granola bars, we stuffed into our bags in the morning, while walking to Checkpoint Charlie. We talked, laughed, and observed all aspects of the roads. The weather was perfect as it was not too cold and not too hot.

Brandenburg Gate

Checkpoint Charlie- History

After another twenty minute walk we arrived at Checkpoint Charlie, the most popular place to cross between East and West Berlin, during the Cold War. We decided that this would be a good place to spend to learn about the many trials of attempts to escape from East Germany. It was the most popular because it was the only American checkpoint where the military, and tourists, could go into East Berlin. Being an American checkpoint meant that the American soldiers weren't trying to keep people in or out, but were warning people that leaving meant saying goodbye to a democratic lifestyle. One story we were made aware of through the visit was an Austrian male, who got himself, and his girlfriend and mother across. He decreased the size of his windshield and drove his convertible through Charlie's border for vehicles. Others tried to escape through the trunks of cars and one man acted as a photographer. Once you were in the West, border control couldn't shoot, but the U.S. guards weren't allowed to help. The saddest story we heard was a man who was shot mid-way over the wall and although he made it over, he couldn't be helped because he was still on the East side. As a result, he died. That was troubling to hear, but helped me understand the brutality of the circumstance. Rather than going to the museum we went to the recreation of the checkpoint where there were "soldiers" posted and signs warning people not to cross. We took a taxi back to the apartment and, after a day of learning and intrigue, went to bed.

Checkpoint Charlie Border House