Sold, Defaced or Bulldozed: The Berlin Wall Is Vanishing
BERLIN For three decades the Berlin Wall stood as a reminder of a country sliced in two, a barrier trapping millions inside the so-called Iron Curtain. Its fall was hailed around the world as a victory of democracy over tyranny.
As officials prepare to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the peaceful revolution that made the symbol of oppression porous, Germans, tourists and experts alike complain that remnants of the wall have been sold, defaced or simply bulldozed.
More parts of the wall should have been preserved as a reminder of the lives that have been lost, said Lydia Okutoyi, a doctor from Kenya on her first visit to Berlin, referring to the more than 125 people thought to have died trying to cross from East to West.
Long seen as a hero in the struggle that culminated in fall of communism, capitalism is playing a role in the wall's demise.
The predominant feeling in those days was that the wall has to go quick, said Wieland Giebel, who owns the Berlin Story shop and publishing house near Brandenburg Gate. He is selling four wall segments on eBay for nearly $10,000 each.
Six concrete remnants of the infamous wall stand at Potsdamer Platz, the German capitals modern center dominated by glass and steel structures. Along with a small photo exhibit, the slabs were positioned as a Cold War landmark, a reminder of Germanys divided past.
But the historic monument has been scarred by hundreds of bits of used chewing gum, which deteriorated the wall parts into a disgusting, undignified tourist attraction, according to an editorial in Berlins Der Tagesspiegel newspaper.
Chewing gum covers graffiti on a segment of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz.
We came to see what is left of the Berlin Wall, but we are a little irritated by the bubble gum that people stuck all over the original graffiti, Canadian tourist Rachel McAllister, 27, told NBC News.
At one of Berlins most visited spots the infamous Checkpoint Charlie border crossing hordes of visitors search futilely for remains of the structure in an area now dominated by shops selling kebabs, Asian food or the local delicacy currywurst. Travelers from abroad often end up taking photos of a plaque and the lines of cobblestone that identify the former barrier's path.
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Sold, Defaced or Bulldozed: The Berlin Wall Is Vanishing