Category Archives: Signs

Berlin Wall 1986



tower at berlin wall

A typical part of the Berlin Wall, including a guard tower and “death strip.”

berlin wall

“Destroy the wall.” The wall had already been crumbling from within as more and more people from East Berlin and the former East Bloc fled to the West through neighboring countries and past the Iron Curtain.

berlin brandenburger gate

In West Berlin the Brandenburg Gate could only be seen from the back.

berlin wall
It was one ugly wall…

I went to see the wall in West Berlin with a few friends in 1986 – three years before it came down. It was built in 1961 by the East German Government to keep their residents in East Germany because people were defecting to the West. Much of the Wall was constructed with barbed wire, landmines and other ways to secure it and actively guarded 24/7. The East German government claimed it was built to ‘protect’ its citizens from the fascistic neighbor.

When it came down on November 9, 1989, I couldn’t believe it. It just shows you that things can and will change – eventually. The politicians may get the credit for bringing the wall down, but it was the people that were locked in that wore it down over the years with protest and steadfast resolve.

Happy 25th Fall of the Wall Anniversary, Germany!

For an interesting viewpoint on what exactly ended the Cold War and brought down the Wall, including an examination of four contradictory explanations from the U.S., China, Europe and Russia, read here.

 

you are leaving west berlin - sign

“Attention – You are now leaving West Berlin”

you are leaving the american sector - sign

“You are leaving the American Sector”

 


Banned Books at City Lights Bookstore



banned books shelf

City Lights book store in San Francisco maintains a shelf dedicated to banned books. A world without 1984, Naked Lunch or Ulysses? Inconceivable! One of the last remaining independent bookstores, City Lights Bookstore is a gem that still has the air of the Beats and hippies. Read more about the City Lights Bookstore here. The owner, Lawrence Ferlinghetti is a poet and has owned the store for over 60 years!