The Berlin Wall Memorial

A GDR soldier jumping over the border fence at the last minute. People throwing themselves out of their windows into the stretched sheets of West Berlin firefighters - pictures of Bernauer Strasse in August 1961 went around the world. Today, the Berlin Wall Memorial commemorates the history of the division of Berlin at this historic site.

 

Cycle tour in three daily stages on the Berlin Wall Cycle Path

Historical cycling: set off from the Hotel-Pension Sperlingshof in the direction of the capital and experience the Wall Cycle Route in three one-day stages. Spend the night at Potsdamer Platz and in Großbeeren. Following the traces of former GDR border fortifications, highlights on this 165-kilometre cycle tour include Checkpoint Charlie, the East Side Gallery (Wall remains monument with graffiti art) and the Glienicke Bridge.

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We have compiled information about the Berlin Wall Memorial in sign language and the history of the Berlin Wall in sign language for you.

Everything about the Berlin Wall Memorial is also available in easy-to-read.

Memorial and Documentation Centre

The large open-air exhibition on the former border strip includes four themed stations with historical audio and visual material, a visitor centre and an observation tower. A 70 metre long section of the Berlin Wall with a border strip and watchtower is located directly on Bernauer Strasse. The site shows how the border was constructed at the end of the 1980s and gives visitors a lasting impression of the structure that once divided the entire country.

The exhibition in the documentation centre is located on the other side of Bernauer Strasse and shows the history of the construction of the Wall in 1961. From a five-storey observation tower, you can take a look at the preserved parts of the border fortifications.
The site is also home to the Chapel of Reconciliation: the former Church of Reconciliation was blown up in 1985 as it was located directly on the border strip. In the newly built chapel, visitors regularly commemorate the victims of the Wall in church services. The window of remembrance on the site portrays the 130 people who were shot or died at the Berlin Wall.

Looking back: Bernauer Strasse as a theatre of history

Bernauer Strasse, on the border between the districts of Wedding and Mitte, became a historical site when the Wall was built. The Berlin Wall was erected here in August 1961 directly on the East Berlin housing front. Some residents decided to flee at the last minute and abseiled out of their windows. Others were forcibly relocated - the windows of their flats bricked up. The picture of the GDR soldier Conrad Schumann, who jumped over the barbed wire into West Berlin two days after the border was closed, is still famous today. Over the years, East Berliners built numerous escape tunnels around Bernauer Strasse. Eventually, the division of the city was overcome: The first segments were broken out of the Berlin Wall on Bernauer Strasse on the night of 10/11 November 1989.

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