25 years since the Berlin Wall fell

Potsdamer Platz in 1961 just after the wall was built and about 20 years later  The tram tracks provided the only clue about the busy place it once was.  See earlier posts.

Not only was it the symbol of the brutal enslavement of hundreds of millions of East Europeans by the communists, it was also the prime symbol of the Cold War.

The impact of this ugly piece of civic surgery on Berlin was quite substantial, but as time passes, the traces of it become less and less noticable.

Although the Soviets were often blamed for the construction of the wall, it is probable that all the pressure for it came from the East German bosses, rather than the Soviets who were more interested in a non-aligned West Germany than a puppet state in the east.  They had already withdrawn from Austria on this basis.

When the wall literally came tumbling down it was a major moment in 20th century world history.

"[DDR Boss] Honecker: Wall stays another 100 years".  Below is the same spot today.  A double row of bricks on streets and sidewalks throughout Berlin now marks where the wall stood.

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