Memorial event: Spandau is reminiscent of the victims of the Berlin Wall

Memorial event: Spandau is reminiscent of the victims of the Berlin Wall

On August 13, 1961, the SED regime in the GDR began building the Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin for 28 years. This building became a symbol for German division and the Cold War. Many people, including citizens from the Spandau district, lost their lives as they tried to flee from the GDR. In honor of these wall deaths and all victims of the wall building, the district office Spandau will put down a wreath with loop on August 13, 2025.

District Mayor Frank Werwig will visit several memorials that day, including:

• 3:00 p.m.: Memorial Bergstrasse
• 3:30 p.m.: memorial at Finkkruger Weg
• 4:30 p.m.: Memorial Oberjägerweg

memory of the wall and their victims

The interest in the Berlin Wall has grown great since the 1990s, both in tourists and in Berliners. Victim associations are calling for a comprehensive memory of the wall regime and its victims. International surveys show that Berlin is closely associated with the wall and its case. For a long time, the traces of the wall were difficult to find, which made it difficult to understand the division.

Before the wall fell, around 50 monuments for the wall victims were built until 1989, and there was a lively discussion about the demolition of many remains of the wall, while the preservation of parts was requested as a memorial. In 1990, the first joint Senate of Berlin initiated the establishment of a central memorial on Bernauer Strasse, which was opened in 1998. This place now attracts over a million visitors annually.

The Berlin Mauer

The Berlin Wall Memorial, located on Bernauer Strasse, is a central place of remembrance to German division. It extends over 1.4 kilometers and contains the last preserved piece of the Berlin Wall. The memory documents the violent interventions in the everyday life of the residents by separating neighbors and friends. An external exhibition section addresses the history of the division and leads through important memory signs.

The special components of the memorial include the monument to the shared city, a monument to the victims of communist tyranny and the chapel of reconciliation. These monuments are evidence of the human tragedies that occurred during the 28 years of division. Some residents desperately jumped from windows in the hope of getting to West Berlin; Others tried to overcome the wall and suffered fatal injuries.

The memorial is not only a place of remembrance, but also a place of learning that documents the conditions and the effects of the wall building on the city society. Exhibitions and events should sensitize future generations to the history of the Berlin Wall and their victims.