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AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRON CURTAIN
tangible example of an East/West divide. The wall became a manifestation
of the Cold War division rather than a result of it. As many of the other
militarised borders across Europe at the time this was clearly visible to the
Western world and it caught the attention of the media which helped to
spread the image of the Berlin Wall across the globe.
The material
Berlin today
I turn a corner and a large open space suddenly opens up, a vast nothingness
stretching out to my left and right. At this former death strip site grass
and bushes have done their best to reclaim their hegemony, only interrupted
by a few occasional paths that cross the space. I follow the cobbled
line along the ground and as I walk along it I notice that all the buildings
around me look very new, many not yet finished. I walk on, and after
turning into Axel-Springerstraβe a series of art installations, colourful
sections of the Berlin Wall, greet me from the parking lot in front of an
office building. I keep following the cobbles, and am occasionally reassured
by signage that I am following the route of the former Berlin Wall.
Although I am close to the centre there are few people around. This soon
changes as I reach Zimmerstrasse and the site of former Checkpoint
Charlie. A bus pulls into the curb outside the Museum, Haus am Checkpoint
Charlie, releasing a hoard of American teenagers. A couple of giggling
girls break away from the rest of the group and walk over to have their
picture taken with the handsome ‘American soldier’ stationed by a replica
of the 1960s border checkpoint.
This large monument of the Cold War is still very much present in
Berlin today. Although most of what is generally seen as the Wall, i.e. the
concrete wall facing West Berlin, has been removed, much of the former
border infrastructure can still be seen throughout Berlin. Major work was
carried out in 1990–1991 to remove the wall but today many other features
that were part of the wall infrastructure are still visible. Although what was
most visible from the West was the final concrete wall this was only the final
part in a series of obstacles constructed to stop any attempts to escape to
West Berlin. When approaching from the East there would first be warning
signs informing of the restrictions of access ahead. These would be red and
white painted concrete pillars or low railings, also in red and white, delimiting
the restricted areas where only those with authorisation was
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