Day 1 - Berlin Wall Memorial 

Guided Tour

On January 15, the class visited the Berlin Wall Memorial site on Bernauer Str. Here, we saw many historical fragments of the wall and learned about its victims. The tour was given on the former “death strip,” a 100-meter-wide area bordering the wall where any trespassers were shot on sight. The majority of the death strip had been covered in grass and reused as a public park where anyone could visit, however, one section remained largely untouched, so visitors could see what used to lie there during the wall era. Areas that were covered in grass saw new life spring out from underneath in the form of trees and plants, now signifying rebirth and growth in a place of former death and loss.

A large portion of where the memorial is situated is on a former cemetery site. This cemetery had been ordered to be destroyed, and graves relocated during the wall's construction, the remnants of which are still visible. What replaced them were watchtowers and spotlights to see any potential escapees, which still stand today, though moved to an exhibition spot. Our class got to see and learn about three different eras of one place before, during, and after the wall, and from it, we got to see a glimpse of what life was like during that time.

Many buildings display large murals around the site, detailing significant historical moments happening nearby. Apartments that housed families were ultimately used as a barrier between East and West Berlin, before being torn down and replaced with the wall years later. Before they were torn down, however, residents and families used them as a way to flee East Berlin, with the wall's first victim attempting to escape from one of these buildings.