Results: The Berlin Wall Today
Published on 10/30/2018
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1.
1.
The Berlin Wall divided the modern capital of Germany from August 3, 1961, until November 9, 1989 for a total of 10,316 days. As of February 5, 2018, it had been 10,316 days since the wall fell. Now, with the post-wall Berlin officially existing longer than the divided Berlin, the city has rebuilt itself. A wave of revolutions swept across the Communist Bloc of Eastern Europe, and the wall came tumbling down, sparking the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in 1991. The dismantling of the wall also became symbolic of the new Berlin, a city that has reconnected and revitalized itself as a global capital. Have you ever visited Berlin and did you go to see what remains of the wall, or did you actually see the wall when it was up?
I have been to Berlin
7%
140 votes
I saw the wall when it was up
6%
131 votes
I have visited where the wall was erected
4%
90 votes
Have been to Berlin but did not go see where the wall was
2%
50 votes
Have not been to Berlin
87%
1864 votes
Was actually in Berlin pre-wall era
3%
71 votes
2.
2.
All that is left of the wall now is a small section, which has become a major tourist attraction. Today, a busy avenue runs where the wall once stood, and buildings populate the once-barren "death strip." Here is some interesting information about the wall. Which of these did you know prior to this survey?
Checkpoint Charlie still stands, but is a major tourist attraction. The former military checkpoint dividing the communist and capitalist worlds is flanked by a McDonald's and department stores.
18%
383 votes
Several US presidents visited the wall, the last of whom was former President Ronald Reagan. The first US president to visit the wall was former President John F. Kennedy.
18%
383 votes
Although Berlin had been divided between East and West Germany since the end of World War II, the wall wasn't constructed until 1961, to keep people from fleeing the communist East for the capitalist West.
26%
556 votes
The Berlin Wall was actually two parallel walls, with a zone between them that was dominated by watchtowers, guards, and barbed wire. This area was called "the death strip."
23%
487 votes
The wall famously ran in front of Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of post-unification Germany. The gate was actually part of a city wall constructed in the 1700s.
13%
272 votes
Despite its notoriety, the wall was relatively small in height. In most places, it was only about 11 feet tall, so people could clearly see buildings on the other side,
14%
304 votes
With a busy thoroughfare like Bernauer Strasse running along the Berlin Wall, many people tried to cross over the wall. While more than 100 people were killed trying to cross over the wall, miraculously, over 5,000 made it over or under to freedom.
10%
217 votes
When the wall finally fell in 1989, it actually happened by mistake. An East German Politburo officer prematurely lifted restrictions on travel between the two parts of Berlin, but once the floodgates were opened, they could not be closed.
9%
199 votes
Knew all of these
8%
170 votes
Knew none
53%
1132 votes
3.
3.
The East Side Gallery is an open-air gallery with a series of murals painted directly on a 1316 metre long remnant of the Berlin Wall, a fitting monument to the fall of the wall and the peaceful negotiation of borders and conventions between societies and people. The most famous image that appears on it is The Kiss which depicts Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev giving the East Germany President Erich Honecker what appears to be a passionate kiss on the lips. Another famous image is a memorial to the Jewish citizens, The Vaterland, painted by Günther Schaefer, showing a Star of David over the German flag, which has been vandalized many times with anti-semitic graffiti. A youth-led campaign is underway to restore the memorial. Paint over Prejudice, an initiative organised by the FZY (Britain's Federation of Zionist Youth). They didn't want it to just be painted over again -- a protective glaze will mean if there is any further graffiti it can be washed off without damaging the original painting. Do you think it is important to preserve this wall and this gallery so that this part of history will never be forgotten, and never be repeated?
Yes
61%
1302 votes
No
11%
243 votes
Not sure
31%
660 votes
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