Fotoeins Friday: 30 years after the fall of the Wall, 2 of 5
November 2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin- and inner-German wall.
At Bernauer Strasse, the former death strip at the Berlin Wall Memorial has been converted to a green space for remembrance and contemplation. In the days of separation, unauthorized entry into this space was met with gunfire without warning by border guards who had “shoot to kill” orders. A row of red bars highlights the former course of the Wall, and I’m standing what would’ve been “no man’s land” or the “death strip”. The cylindrical structure at right-centre is the Versöhnungskapelle or Reconciliation Chapel to mark the former location of the former Church of Reconciliation which was demolished in 1985 because the structure was in the “death strip” area for the Berlin Wall.
I made the image above on 19 October 2012 with a Canon 450D and the following settings: 1/400-sec, f/8, ISO200, 18mm focal length (29mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-f9J.
Location
The first map section from berlin.de shows my location and image perspective with a black asterisk and black arrow, respectively, with additional parts labeled: Vorderlandmauer (boundary or outer wall) which was often but not always coincident with the “politische Grenze” (political border) between West and East Berlin, Grenzstreifen (border control zone), and Hinterlandmauer (hinterland or inner wall). West Berlin is above the red line, and East Berlin is below the blue line. The second map section below is clickable via Google Maps.
Fotoeins Fotografie 
9 Responses to “Fotoeins Friday: 30 years after the fall of the Wall, 2 of 5”
This is a definite must-see when we are in Berlin next year. Great idea to commemorate the fall. I can’t believe it is 30 years!
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Hi, Patti. In which season will you be headed off to Germany next year? What other parts of the country and/or Europe will you be visiting? In Berlin, how long do you plan to stay, and what sights are you planning to visit?
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I would love to get your suggestions, Henry. Can I email you?
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Yes, of course! You can also reach me through the contact page on my website.
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Henry I’m not able to see the larger size when I click the picture. But with your description of the place, I would have goosebumps if I were standing at that patch of green.
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Hi, Amor, and thanks for your comment. Standing in places with a great deal of happenings and history is about the closest experience I’ve had to lingering with ghosts: many people who wanted freedom died trying to cross that wall.
Since posting your comment, have you tried again to view the image? I logged out of WordPress; I viewed my post and I was able to select/press/click on the image. I must admit I prefer users view my website on a screen larger than a tiny mobile. 😅
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Still ‘page not found’. I do use my desktop when I read blogs, my tiny 8plus (still tiny for my poor eyesight) gives me headaches.
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Hi again! That error message is so strange! Please give the following URL a try [ http://bit.ly/2QDW8a6 ]. Please let me know; if that URL doesn’t work, I can e-mail you a version of the image. I wouldn’t want to leave a viewer or reader hanging. 😊
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Ah there it is. I see it now. Thanks Henry.
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