Berlin honours those who died crossing the Wall
As church bells toll, mayor condemns 'nostalgia' for symbol of 'dictatorship'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Berlin's mayor said yesterday that he was appalled some Germans were nostalgic for the Berlin Wall and supported a newly fashionable leftist view that there were legitimate reasons for building it in 1961. At a sombre ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the wall's construction, Mayor Klaus Wowereit, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Christian Wulff paid tribute to the 136 people killed trying to get over the wall to West Berlin.
Mr Wowereit said the wall, toppled in 1989, should serve as a reminder of freedom and democracy around the world. Church bells pealed while trains and traffic came to a standstill at noon across the city for a moment of silence for the victims.
"We don't have any tolerance for those who nostalgically distort the history of the Berlin Wall and Germany's division," Mr Wowereit said at the ceremony in front of a small section of the wall recently rebuilt for posterity. "The wall was part of a dictatorship," he said. "And it's alarming that even today some people argue there were good reasons to build the wall. No! There's no legitimate reason, nor justification, for violating human rights and for killings."
The shock over the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961 is still palpable half a century later. "We couldn't believe it happened and we all felt numb when we first saw it," said Harry Dieter, 80, a retired West Berlin city official who was on honeymoon in Italy when the wall was first built.
"No one ever thought they would do that," he added. "I remember looking at the barbed wire and the cement and hoping it wouldn't take long for someone to order it taken down. Unfortunately, the order never came."
He and his wife, Doris, 72, have recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. "It's obviously better that Berlin is Berlin again and we're no longer divided," said Mrs Dieter. "But, unfortunately, there's still a bit of an invisible 'Wall' in some people's minds, which I fear will last a while."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments