Pop-up exhibition Friedrichstrasse corner Zimmerstrasse, 10117 Berlin
Photographer Mathias Brauner captured the moment the Wall fell at Checkpoint Charlie with his cameras. In contrast to the well-known shots taken at other inner-city border crossings, he primarily shows the time immediately before the border was opened from West Berlin's perspective.
A colorful crowd of people building up more and more pressure; members of the passport control units and border guards trying to remain masters of the situation.
On the West Berlin side, shouts of "Let us in!" are heard, on the East Berlin side they shout "Let us out!".
Brauner's meticulous black-and-white photos convey the tension and excitement at the border crossings and show the hopeless overwhelm of the GDR border guards.
Mathias Brauner was a student in West Berlin in 1989, but grew up in East Berlin. A year earlier, he was expelled from the GDR after being imprisoned for a few days in Hohenschönhausen for his involvement in the “Citizenship Law Working Group” emigration group.
Friedrichstrasse corner Zimmerstrasse, 10117 Berlin
The exhibition is free of charge
With the support of the Asisi Panorama