this is the voice of re:mote induction.Tuesday, October 14, 2003
BERLIN
topography of terror/checkpoint charlie - one of the most obvious parts of berlin's recent history was the berlin wall, which was put up by the russians in the 1960's to prevent the flow of people from the east to the west. the division of the city in such a concrete manner was met with protests, and throughout the history of the wall there were attempts to cross the divide and to bypass security. the longest remaining section of the wall has been protected and incorporated into an exhibit called the topography of terror, which is located on Niederkirchnerstrasse. the exhibition of photographs located in the old SS/Gestapo bunker along the wall can also be found online. as an exhibit the wall is the memorable piece of the collection, the rest gives an impression of being a work in progress, underlined by the fact that the second time we passed the site the location of the entrance cabins for guides had moved.
a more flashy and obvious stopping point is the check point charlie reconstruction along Friedrichstrasse, which is along the street from the topography exhibit. a re-creation of the american check point on the western side of the wall, a sand bagged hut with warning signs. here there are loads of little stalls and shops attempting to sell tourists cold war memorobilia, t-shirts and allegedly parts of the wall. more significant is the Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, which took an active role of resistance against the wall and now is open as a museum charting the period.
the museum is comprehensive, and more sprawling than one initially suspects. filled with the history that led to the wall being built, the protests against it, and the charting of successes and failures of people trying to get across the wall. the first part of the museum is filled with the photographs and accounts of the people that were there, along with models and actual items used in escape attempts. the second part of the museum deals with peaceful protest, and the wearing away of the eastern european regimes. following the examples of ghandi and martin luther king to apply the ideas to east germany, poland, the czech republic, hungary and rumania.
topography of terror/checkpoint charlie - one of the most obvious parts of berlin's recent history was the berlin wall, which was put up by the russians in the 1960's to prevent the flow of people from the east to the west. the division of the city in such a concrete manner was met with protests, and throughout the history of the wall there were attempts to cross the divide and to bypass security. the longest remaining section of the wall has been protected and incorporated into an exhibit called the topography of terror, which is located on Niederkirchnerstrasse. the exhibition of photographs located in the old SS/Gestapo bunker along the wall can also be found online. as an exhibit the wall is the memorable piece of the collection, the rest gives an impression of being a work in progress, underlined by the fact that the second time we passed the site the location of the entrance cabins for guides had moved.
a more flashy and obvious stopping point is the check point charlie reconstruction along Friedrichstrasse, which is along the street from the topography exhibit. a re-creation of the american check point on the western side of the wall, a sand bagged hut with warning signs. here there are loads of little stalls and shops attempting to sell tourists cold war memorobilia, t-shirts and allegedly parts of the wall. more significant is the Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, which took an active role of resistance against the wall and now is open as a museum charting the period.
the museum is comprehensive, and more sprawling than one initially suspects. filled with the history that led to the wall being built, the protests against it, and the charting of successes and failures of people trying to get across the wall. the first part of the museum is filled with the photographs and accounts of the people that were there, along with models and actual items used in escape attempts. the second part of the museum deals with peaceful protest, and the wearing away of the eastern european regimes. following the examples of ghandi and martin luther king to apply the ideas to east germany, poland, the czech republic, hungary and rumania.
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