Souvenirs? Historic Site? Wall Still Splits Berlin

[Kellanved]

BERLIN (Reuters) - Forty-two years after the Berlin Wall went up, Germans are still divided -- over what to do with the remains of the concrete eyesore that kept them apart till 1989.

Chip it into chunks and sell it off to tourists? Or declare it a World Heritage site? The question remained on Wednesday's anniversary of the day the barrier first appeared in 1961.


Visitors to Berlin often search in vain for remnants of the wall. Thirteen years after the two Germanys reunited, only small stretches of the wall still stand. And holes have been hammered into those by souvenir hunters. Some sections are fenced off.

Large parts of the 65 miles of wall that surrounded West Berlin have been destroyed, or bought by Volker Pawlowski.
The former construction worker from West Berlin gave up his job in 1991 to open a new business: he dismantles large segments of wall, which he bought from recycling sites shortly after reunification, and then sells the graffiti-sprayed relics.
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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=3&u=/nm/20030814/od_nm/wall_dc


There isn't much wall left in Berlin, some of the intact parts are painted by famous artists (east side gallery), or are a part of a museum. At some places the former border is marked on the street, but mostly it isn't - the wall has vanished, it only continues to exist in the minds.
Most of the wall was used to build streets after the reunification.


Never ever sniff at a piece of the Wall- it contains a hefty dose of asbestos. Keep it sealed or seal it yourself.

[Lars39]

1. Before the wall, there was barbed-wire. FIL has a piece from

Check-point Charlie.

[DarkPhenyx]

2. Buddy of mine who was...

...one of the last Americans stationed with the Berlin Brigade. I got three pieces of teh war for Christmas my first year stationed in Germany.