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In a single evening fifteen years ago, East Berliners stunned the world?s political theorists, historians, and themselves. By the thousands, they poured into West Berlin through six border crossings in the Berlin Wall, past East German guards who for the past 28 years had used deadly force to stop any such illegal crossings. However on this night, November 9, 1989, a spokesman from the East German government blundered at a press conference and announced travel restrictions (such as visiting the West) would be lifted immediately. After weeks of East German demonstrations for voting rights, freedom of the press and the right to travel, the Wall had figuratively fallen overnight. East and West Berliners fell into each other?s arms and shouted in joyous, tearful disbelief: ?This is insane!?
The Wall has largely been dismantled now and tourists are astounded that its quasi-artistic legacy (graffiti) is better preserved in Berlin than the symbol of the Cold War itself. Today?s spray paint graffiti is nothing like the pleas for peace and freedom that once marked the western side of the Wall. Four major stretches of the Wall remain. The longest portion, the East Side Gallery, runs along Mühlenstraße between Ostbahnhof and Warschauer Straße along the Spree River. Artists painted this Wall?s eastern side with murals shortly after the Wende (the peaceful revolution). Just south of Potsdamer Platz on the east side of Stresemanstraße a few colourful Wall panels run right into a building. A guard tower looms 100 metres behind this section. These remnants will probably be razed next year. Just around the corner, Niederkirchnerstraße preserves 200 metres of the well-pecked Wall. Connecting the Wall?s history, from it?s creation in 1961 to its fall in November 1989 is the one-of-a-kind Videobus tour offered by Zeitreisen (Time Travel). The tour takes you past the Wall and sites marking the Cold War, and via video monitors on the bus, shows you dramatic documentary film footage covering the events in the Wall?s history (see below).
Berlin Wall - 15 years later
A 2.5-hour Videobus Tour in English with guide and historic film footage. Tickets ?19/15. Starting point: Berlin Story bookstore, Unter den Linden 40. Reservations are recommended and spots are held until 10 minutes before the tour leaves. For information and reservations, call 44 02 44 50, email kontakt@videobustour.de or visit www.videobustour.de.
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