BERLIN WALL SEGMENTS

From 1945 to 1961 over 3.5 million people fled the Soviet-occupied zones through East Germany to freedom in West Germany. To staunch this flow of socioeconomic refugees, the “Communist” German Democratic Republic began to close the borders in divided Berlin. Beginning in 1961, a 27.1 mile border wall, now known as the Berlin Wall, was gradually constructed. First, it emerged as a series of barbed wire-topped, low masonry walls. Later, anti-vehicle trenches, concrete panelized systems, and watch towers were added. As if those devices were not enough, another innovation involved a death strip of varying widths with patrols, alarm wires, and dogs. Families were evicted from apartment houses along the border, which were blocked up and eventually razed to make way for the death strip. During that period people jumped to freedom from those buildings, some to their death. Finally, a fourth-generation barrier was adapted in the mid-1970s from an agricultural retaining wall system designed to contain liquid manure. These reinforced concrete segments had deep anti-tip bases and rose to 12’ high. At the top, the segments tapered to 4” thick and were capped with an iron pipe to impede handholds.

Between the years 1961 and 1989, at least 140 people were murdered trying to escape. Over 5,000 people did escape; 11% of them were GDR military deserters. The costs to maintain the Wall, and to surveil and imprison those who tried to escape, were astronomical. These costs were often cited as a major reason why the GDR failed. Their system of cruelly imprisoning their population led to a demoralized citizenry and cannibalistic corruption whereby prisoners were traded to the West for money and eventually wet and dry goods. This was an untenable situation leading to economic failure. The Wall fell on November 9, 1989 following days of mass protests in East Germany giving way to German unification on October 3, 1990.

“Border violators [should be] captured as enemies at all costs, and if necessary exterminated.”-National Defence Council, East Germany 1962

The Wall was immediately attacked by “wallpeckers” with hammers and chisels who sought to accelerate the process and perhaps take home a souvenir. The demolition sparked an ironically capitalist market that continues to this day: With over 180,000 tons of concrete, some riddled with asbestos, there’s plenty of material for the shops around Checkpoint Charlie. Belittling the horror of the Wall’s era, some of the shops’ casework is designed to mimic the profile of the Wall’s final form. Shortly after the Wall fell, Clover, a former, US-based discount retailer, had displays of mounted, spray-painted concrete chunks for sale. One must wonder about the legitimacy of these souvenirs.

The world embraced the intact, painted Wall segments, with many of them auctioned off or donated to governments and institutions as “works of art.” The photographs in this calendar highlight some of the locales where it can be quite difficult to even approach the Wall segments. Many are sited in peculiar locations like commerce centers, entertainment venues, and even a downtrodden bus station, where these monuments to terror are stripped of the critical context required for visitors to comprehend the impact of what our political systems can do.

Holtec International, Camden, NJ

Miami Dade College, Miami, FL

Western Brown Line Station, Chicago, IL

Holt Int’l Business School, Boston, MA

A&O Hostel, Prague, CZ

FDR Home, Hyde Park, NY

UN Sculpture Park, New York City, Ny

Reagan Building, Washington DC

Vereinigung Erzgebirge, Warminster, PA

German Society, Philadelphia, PA

American Consulate, Munich, Germany

berlin wall b-sides

WANT THESE berlin wall segments as a 2025 CALENDAR? IF SO, DOWNLOAD IT HERE FOR FREE! LARGE FILE.

PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR TOP LOADING PRINTERS-LOAD SEVEN LETTER-SIZED PAPERS (8.5X11) PORTRAIT/VERTICALLY ORIENTED IN YOUR PRINTER. PRINT THE ODD NUMBERS ONLY FIRST. ADOBE ACROBAT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THIS. TAKE THAT PRINTED PACKET, FLIP IT OVER without rotating. PLACE THE PAGES BACK IN THE PRINTER. DO NOT SEPARATE THE PAGES! KEEP IT AS A PACK. THE BLANK SIDES SHOULD BE FACING YOU. now PRINT THE EVEN NUMBERS ONLY. SCORE THE CENTER LINES OF THE ODD SIDES. FOLD FOR A CRISP EDGE AND ARRANGE THE PAGES SO THEY MAKE THE CALENDAR IN ORDER WITH "HAPPY NEW YEAR ” AS THE COVER WHEN ASSEMBLED. JULY IS THE MIDDLE OF THE CALENDAR, THEN JUST STACK THE REMAINING MONTHS OF THE YEAR WITH THE COVER LAST. THIS IS THE EASIEST METHOD. THE CALENDAR SHOULD BE IN THE SAME ORDER AS THE IMAGES POSTED HERE. THEN FIND A WAY TO STAPLE THE CENTER AT THE ENDS OF THE CENTER LINE. STAPLE THROUGH THE COVER. THERE’S A CIRCLE AT THE TOP OF EACH PAGE FOR A PIN. WE SUGGEST HEAVY-WEIGHT PAPER LIKE BROCHURE OR CARD STOCK. SEND US A PHOTO OF YOUR HANGING CALENDAR WHEN COMPLETE TO INFO@RETHIKTANKDESIGN.COM. WE WILL RESPOND WITH A UNIQUE tombino.shop COUPON CODE. ENJOY!