BUILDING
THE BERLIN WALL - 50th ANNIVERSARY
Berlin “Celebrated" Events in 2011
When one hears the word Berlin almost immediately follows in the mind
the word “wall”. Very little is left of the original Berlin
Wall that once divided Germany’s capital city into city into East
and West. The infamous border divider began being constructed on August
13 of 1961. First as a barbed wire fence, then an increasingly complex
system of metal and concrete walls with watch towers and a death strip
no-mans land, upgrades over the nineteen-sixties. And when it “fell” in
1989, there was a rush to remove all traces of this symbol of German
division (see Fall of the Berlin Wall) and the Cold War in an effort
to reunite the country. Construction cranes soon filled the skyline,
building a revitalized city where it was once divided.
Now a new generation is showing a renewed interest in the monument to
this unique period of 28 years of German history which split families
and neighbors. Memorials, museums, sights, and special tours are now
available for visitors to Berlin, and for 2011 a selection of special
commemorative events to mark the 50th anniversary of the construction
of the Berlin Wall, will put a special emphasis on its inhumanity, and
the disruption, fates and hopes of the people on both sides of the 99.4
mile (160 kilmometer) barrier.
German Historical Museum - Pei Building
May 12 to October 3
The German Historical Museum is dedicating an extensive photo exhibit
to the Iron Curtain and the East West conflict, featuring works by artists
Thomas Hoepker and Daniel Biskup; two photographers documenting the political
upheaval in the GDR and its broader consequences. Hoepker worked as a
GDR correspondent in the 1970s and Biskup travelled through the Soviet
Union, as it was breaking up. www.dhm.de.
Allied Museum - Berlin
From the 1958 Soviet threat to force the Western powers out of Berlin,
to the tank stand-off at Checkpoint Charlie in 1961, to the Cuba Crisis
in 1962, the international history of the building of the Wall forms
the central narrative thread of the exhibition at the new Allied Museum
representing the western powers where aspects of everyday life of Berliners
as well as Allied soldiers are told. Frozen moments of the past with
personal souvenirs will help visitors grasp the individual experiences
of the Cold War. Allied
Museum
Wall Trail Images Art Installation
June 15 to August 27
Life-sized black & white photographs will be located at 13 places where the
wall once stood, the the Trail of the Wall, with each showing a view from 1961
of that particular location towards the sector across the wall. The images document
life situations for that year. The project’s opening date, June 15, coincides
with East German Party Chief Ulbricht’s infamous remark of exactly 50 years
before, stating that “no one has the intention to build a Wall“.
The Wall at the Berlin O2 Arena
June 15 & 16, 2011
On July 21, 1990, Pink Floyd performed The Wall live in Berlin to commemorate
the fall of the Berlin Wall eight months earlier. On June 15 & 16, 2011,
Roger Waters will bring The Wall back to Berlin’s O2 arena, and perform
the 1979 album in full as part a 28-date tour. The concert will feature a new
visual interpretation of the world famous album and intends a more political
point-of-view than the original band’s tour.
Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse
August 13
On the actual day of the 50th Anniversary, an official commemorative ceremony
of the commencement of construction of the Wall will be presented on August 13,
2011, with the official address by Federal President Christian Wulff, beginning
at 10 am at the Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse. The event will include a prayer,
wreath ceremony, opening of the memorial’s new outdoor exhibition dedicated
to the victims of the wall, as well as the speaker program, the "mile of
contemporary history" informative walk, and open-air cinema.
“
We’re Going Across” Art Installation
Friedrichstrasse S-Bahn Station - August 5 to 15
On August 13, 1961, at 1.14 am, passengers of the S-Bahn train at busy Friedrichstrasse
station heard an announcement ordering them to deboard the train, as continuation
of the trip from one sector to the other would no longer be possible. That same
historic announcement is scheduled to be broadcast again in the trains, platforms,
and station to remind passengers of the bizarre situation. Markers on the floor
will show the borders and checkpoints where East Berliners were stopped from
entering West Berlin, and vice versa.
For further continuing Berlin Wall and East German GDR (German Democratic Republic)
period
experiences
one
can visit the Wall
Museum at Checkpoint Charlie, the remaining original wall
section monument at the Topography
of Terror Museum and examine life in socialist East
Berlin at the GDR
Museum. © Bargain
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See Also:
BERLIN TECHNICAL MUSEUM - BERLIN AIRLIFT
KAISER WILHELM MEMORIAL CHURCH
