It is hard for most us to imagine what life in the shadow of the Berlin Wall was like for citizens of Soviet-controlled East Berlin and NATO-aligned West Berlin. It divided not just a city, but families, communities, and, indeed, a whole nation. Although the wall completely encircled the democratic and free city of West Berlin, for the unlucky citizens of East Berlin it was a prison – complete with guard towers, anti-vehicle trenches and fakir beds lining its notorious “death strip.”
The Berlin Wall’s dismantling, both symbolically and physically, began on November 9, 1989 as cheering crowds from the east and west hammered at its face with whatever implements they could find, a moment that heralded the eventual reunification of Germany a year later. Pieces of the wall can be found the world over, but in the US, the largest collection is held by the Newseum, a museum in Washington D.C. dedicated to promoting free expression the world over.
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