What the F*ck is the Berlin Wall?
Not just another sleeper chapter from your high school history book, the Berlin Wall was the physical form of the so-called “Iron Curtain” and dished out 100+ concrete miles of extreme oppression. The Wall started as an overnight surprise that separated a city, country and seemingly, an entire world, changing the lives of millions and eventually, shaping the guts of Berlin, a city that now pounds hard with pride. A little history never hurt anybody, and if you plan on visiting Berlin, you should definitely know where it’s been. OTP’s here to help with an over-the-top look of the Berlin Wall.
Though World War II was sliding into the rear-view, international hostility remained high. The Cold War between communism and the Western world had unofficially kicked off, and Berlin was the unlucky kid caught in the middle of East and West Germany’s ugly divorce. Communist Soviets owned East Berlin and the Western half was backed by the Allies (U.S., France, U.K.). Evidently, the grass isn’t always greener and the conditions in commie-controlled East Berlin sucked ass. As a result, millions headed to the internationally-aided West side. After the loss of so many skilled workers and years of declining economy, the unpopular East side decided it was time to shut down the border in 1961.
The Big Erection
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev called Berlin the testicles of the West; when he wanted the West to scream he’d give Berlin a good squeeze. His aid in putting up the Berlin Wall tightened assholes in anger, with screams heard on both sides. On the night of August 12, 1961, soldiers of the GDR (German Democratic Republic; East Germany) began formation of the wall. Streets were torn to stop any traffic and the wall-to-be was lined with soldiers, tanks and barbed wire. The structure of the Wall as we know it didn’t pop up overnight, but its intentions did. Families were torn apart, people couldn’t get to their jobs and lives were completely cut off as no typical Berliner was allowed to cross the border from there forward.
On August 13th, whichever side of the Wall you happened to wake up on, would be your new home for decades. Being on house arrest (in the shitty part of town) understandably drove people nuts and they quickly tried to escape from East Berlin. Climbing over, crawling through tunnels or jumping from neighboring buildings surprisingly brought success to thousands early on. The government “fought back” by constructing a second wall 100 yards away. The deserted land in between the two 12-foot concrete walls was known as the “death strip”, riddled with mines, tripwires and heavily-guarded by trigger-happy soldiers from watchtowers. Two families notably escaped socialism in style by flying over the Wall in a homemade nylon hot-air balloon. Consequently, the sale of almost any cloth was banned in the East; yes, shit was that bad. Rigorous checkpoints, most famously Checkpoint Charlie, were set up to allow officials to travel to and from East Berlin. For limited times, the checkpoints opened for Westerners to go into East Berlin, but overall, the Berlin Wall was a human bear-trap.
After 28 years of dismal terrorization through worldly isolation, shit really started to go down. East Berlin’s communist leader, Günter Schabowski, gave an ill-prepared speech on November 9, 1989. Stumbling and mumbling led him to eventually spurt some stuff about the border being opened for “private trips abroad.” With careful questioning during the conference, the citizens took his fumbled words and ran wild with them. Thousands immediately rushed to the checkpoints, overwhelming the already confused guards who had no choice but to let the people pass. Like any prided Black Friday shopper will preach, the bum rush is always the best strategy. The Wall’s security had been breached and its reign of restriction was finally over. Demolition began the next day alongside individual “wall woodpeckers” who started carving the colossus for profits.
The Wall Today
Though nearly destructed in its entirety, pieces of the Wall still stand in several locations. Bernauer Strasse is home to the Berlin Wall Memorial and houses some actual parts of the original Wall, as well does Niederkirchnerstrasse, which you can find by asking for the parliament building (practice your pronunciation). The most famous sight to see is the East Side Gallery, which is a long strip of the original Wall through the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district covered in awesome symbolic artwork and graffiti on both sides. Get more acquainted with the Wall by taking a Fat Bike tour where you can see everything under the concrete skirt with the added bonus of pedaling through authentic Berlin streets. Tour or not, you’ll likely stumble along the former Wall as the surrounding land was snatched up for cheap and quickly turned into some of the city’s coolest bars and clubs, like Berghain and Tresor.
Thousands were psychologically scarred and many met their ends trying to defeat the Wall that once cut up the city. Its collapse was a formal unification of east and west. Now free from oppression, Berlin’s liberal, loud and proud voice radiates internationally with no boundaries.
A mind and body traveller who thrives on recollection and anticipation, all the while decorating the crossroads.
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