East Side Gallery

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the “Mauerfall”, “fall of the wall”. A celebration in Berlin gathered world leaders and the people of Germany in a celebration of the tearing down of a most infamous landmark. It's sort of a strange name though because the Berlin wall wasn't ripped down on November 9^th, 1989.

It all started with a botched press conference. Representatives from the East German government announced there would be changes in travel law, and the party member who read the news said the words “effective immediately”. The government was actually intending to start a visa process, and the new travel laws would have been modified, effective in a few days.

Those two words, “effective immediately” inspired a crowd to gather in front of the gate at Bornholmerstraße. Another crowd gathered at Invalidenstaße. Another crowd at Brandenburg Gate. A few days earlier, the East German government had given strict orders forbidding the border patrol to use weapons. The crowds started chanting, “Macht das Tor auf!”, “Open this gate!” The border patrol didn't really know what to do. They tried calling party members, but no one answered, and in the end the border patrols just said, “Well...ok...” and opened the gate at Bornholmerstraße. Other gates followed suit. The tearing down of the wall didn't begin until a few months later.

It's important to understand that the wall itself is still not completely torn down. One of the oldest remaining sections of the wall is called the East Side Gallery.

The East Side Gallery is the largest open air gallery in the world. A section of the Berlin Wall measuring approximately 1.3 kilometers in length, is the canvas for murals begun in 1990. Standing as a memorial to freedom, the East Side Gallery has paintings from more than 106 different artists from all around the world.

Paintings depicting people tearing down a wall piece by piece, doves pulling at the chains of oppression, socialist leaders making out and figures “dancing to freedom” adorn the wall. Styles and methods vary of course, as each of the 106 original artists had different messages and techniques in their professional arsenal. A lack of funding has caused the original 1990 paintings to fall into disrepair, but a fourth of the gallery has been restored by the original artists.

The East Side Gallery is an astounding example of the power art has. This gallery reminds the people of Berlin, and the world, of this city's fascinating history and the change evoked through the power of the people. So if you're ever in Berlin, check it out!

See some pictures and read more about the East Side Gallery by clicking the blog title!