8. Berlin Wall Trail (Mauerweg)
The Berlin Wall trail is a memorial and path for walking and biking through the countryside. The interactive map for the Berlin Wall trail contains information about the memorials, historical markers, commemorative sites, and remains of the wall that are found along the path. Select a section of the trail from the options near the bottom of the landing page (e.g. “southern route”). Select a section to examine and consider the following questions.
- What would a visitor to this section of the Wall Trail encounter?
- Select one memorial or marker and briefly describe it. What does the marker look like? What is being memorialized?
9. Walled In: The Inner German Border
“Walled in: The Inner German Border” tells the history of the Wall between the two German states. The first half of the video focuses on the section of the border near Bernauer Straße with particular emphasis on the many fences, barriers, and walls that composed the Berlin Wall.
- In your own words briefly describe the many elements of the Berlin Wall.
- Reflect on the resources–material and human–that were expended to develop, build, and maintain these barriers.
- Imagine you were a visitor to West Berlin and climbed up one of the observation platforms. How might you have reacted to the view?
10. Escape Attempts at Bernauer Straße in 1961
After construction of the Wall began, many residents of East Berlin sought to find ways to escape. This video shows the scenes from Bernauer Straße in August of that year.
- Which images from the video are most striking to you?
- In what ways did these images, which spread quickly in the west, mark a victory for the Western powers in the Cold War?
11. Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Straße
The area along Bernauer Straße is now the central memorial and site for documenting the history of the Wall. On the ground along the street are numerous plaques and signs marking locations where people attempted to escape. The Stiftung Berliner Mauer has created four maps that show the location of each sign. Select one of the sections and respond to the following questions as you read the descriptions of the locations marked on the map.
- When were the majority of the escape attempts?
- What were the methods of escape?
- Did any of the escape attempts have assistance from people in West Berlin?
12. East Side Gallery
A. “It’s happened in November” documents the scene near Kani Alavi’s studio in the days after the Wall opened. Use this link to closely examine the mural. What words come to mind when you zoom in on the image? How would you describe Alavi’s mural?
B. Using the images of the mural in this collection, find an image that represents each of the themes listed below. For each image and theme, write a short description of the mural and how it shows the theme you selected:
- Peace
- Tolerance
- Walls
13. Keith Haring’s Mural
In 1986, Keith Haring painted a section of the Berlin Wall near Checkpoint Charlie. Haring was a well-known urban artist who had been arrested many times in the United States for his graffiti. Using information from this website, answer the following questions.
- What symbolic meaning did Haring intend with this artwork?
- In what ways does this artwork differ from Haring’s earlier work? Do you see this work as more political than his other work?
- In some of the photos on the website, the Statues of Liberty painted months earlier by Thierry Noir can be seen through the yellow background color. Does it bother you that Haring was painting over the work of another artist? How do you interpret this layering of images on the Wall?
14. Checkpoint Charlie
This article, “Tourist Trap and Memorial: What is to become of Checkpoint Charlie?” summarizes the arguments for addressing the present situation and some of the ideas being discussed for redeveloping the area around Checkpoint Charlie.
- What criticisms of the current situation are voiced in the article?
- How would you describe the plan for redesigning the area?
- What is the goal of the renovation plan? What will visitors see when it is finished?
- In what ways does the present situation at Checkpoint Charlie fail to properly memorialize its significance in the Cold War?
- Reflect for a moment on the discussion about Checkpoint Charlie in the context of the memorial, the parks, and the East Side Gallery presented earlier in the chapter. Which elements from these other sites do you think should be considered for the area around the checkpoint? Do you have other suggestions for redesigning or creating a monument at Checkpoint Charlie?
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