For a piece of the Berlin Wall, Kyivans just have to make a trip to German Embassy.
Ukrainians often say that ever since the latest round European Union enlargement froze, a new virtual wall has divided Europe. You can see traces of its evidence outside the German Embassy in Kyiv where long queues for visas are an everyday sight.
But apart from the virtual wall, Kyiv now has a piece of the real Berlin Wall right outside Germany’s embassy on 25 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street. Kyiv was the first city in the former Soviet Union to get a piece of this tragic and historic relic.
On Nov. 9, 2009, Germany marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall that split the country in half for decades. Kyiv was one of the 20 cities of the world to receive its own piece of it for keeping. This was done within the framework of an international project called ‘Mauerreise,’ which in German means ‘Journey of the Wall.’
“The issue concerns an original fragment as a symbol of Germany’s freedom and unity,” said Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth, German Ambassador to Ukraine during the celebration ceremony in Kyiv. Heimsoeth personally chose this specific fragment for Ukraine. It weighs around 2.5 tons, is 3.6 meters tall and 1.5 meters wide. There are no inscriptions on it, with the exception of some graffiti letters.
In 1945, when World War II ended, Germany was split up. Britain and the U.S. took control over the Western part of Berlin and the country, while Russia took the Eastern part. Soon, those living in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the East felt they wanted to escape out of the Soviet communism to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).
The exodus was so massive that the GDR officials ordered to string barbed wire along the border dividing east and west of Berlin. Soon, the wire was replaced with a concrete wall for “anti-fascist protection.” It was quickly dubbed “The Iron Curtain,” and stretched the entire length of the border, some 160 kilometers (100 miles). The border had checkpoints, and those trying to escape were simply shot.
One of Berlin’s best known attractions is ‘Checkpoint Charlie’ or ‘Checkpoint C’, a border-crossing point which became a symbol of German gateway to freedom. Over 100 people were killed trying to escape to the West from 1961 to 1989. Chris Gueffroy was the last person to be shot while trying to escape to West Berlin across the Berlin Wall on February 6, 1989. There is a commemorative tablet to Gueffroy near the Wall.
On Nov. 9, 1989, came the official government announcement that those residing in East Germany can freely travel to the other side of the wall, and vice versa. In October 1990, the GDR united with the FRG.
The wall was largely torn down, but parts were preserved as a memorial which turned into a huge open-air graffiti gallery. Thanks to the relic erected just outside the German embassy in Kyiv, Ukrainians no longer need to travel the 1,210 kilometer (750 mile) distance to Berlin to get a glimpse.
Kyiv Post staff writer Iryna Prymachyk can be reached at [email protected].
