Each of these slate slabs is a memorial
to a politician who was murdered and persecuted
since he opposed Chancellor Adolph Hitler.
There are 96 slabs.
A former member of Tabor Heights UMC
was a cabinet maker in Berlin during World War II.
He recounted how every tree in the city was cut
to make coffins. Tiergarten, a 400-acre park
now nicknamed the "green lungs of Berlin",
heralds the return of the trees.
A reconstruction of Checkpoint Charley is,
in Rick Steve's words, "a Cold War freak show."
Two actors play American guards who
pose for photographs. However,
a photo exhibit lines the sidewalk and
spotlights historic moments featuring
Churchill, Franklin, Stalin, Truman, and Kennedy.
And let us never forget the unforgettable Kruschev.
Segments of the Berlin Wall vividly remind
one of the city's divided past.
These crosses commemorate those individuals
who lost their lives attempting to escape
from East to West Berlin. The first in 1961, the last in 1989.
2 comments:
Very intense stuff.
What a blessing to all of mankind to just be able to walk up to the Berlin Wall and not worry about getting shot. I remember seeing the people with sledge hammers knocking the wall down. Powerful stuff. Ich bein ein Berliner, ya'all.
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