A City Divided...and Reunited

Berlin is a city of contemporary culture more than tradition. In contrast to southern Germany (where biergartens rule), trendy bars, ethnic restaurants, and high-end shopping are what tourists encounter. With a feel and beat much like Chicago, and a top of the line public transit system, Berlin has come back with a vengence from its post-WWII division. But despite its rebirth, remnants of its past pay tribute the strength of the German people and their friends, family, and beloved city that were divided.

At the end of World War II, Europe was split into Eastern and Western blocs, under the auspices of communist and democratic ideologies respectively. Berlin – being an important city both politically and economically – was also divided into British, American, French, and Soviet blocs. But the reality of the situation, and what made Berlin so crucial to the post-WWII political schema, was that Berlin lay right in the middle of Soviet territorial control. Until the early 1950s (before the Berlin Wall was built), the border between East and West could be easily crossed. So easy in fact that subways still ran between East and West Berlin making visits and emigration logistically uncontrollable.

But what makes Berlin's story so poignant was not the existence of the wall itself; rather, it was the manner in which it was erected and the reality that it symbolized. At midnight on August 13, 1961, Eastern bloc troops were ordered to close off the border between East and West, and by the morning a barbed wire fence spanning almost 125 miles surrounded the entire city, literally overnight. Friends and families, in just a matter of hours, were separated for what would become almost 30 years.

I was lucky to visit Berlin with my father whose last visit pre-dated the wall's fall. Last time he visited Checkpoint Charlie, he was on a tour bus to East Berlin being scrutinized by border guards and keenly aware of the tense political situation in existence. Now the checkpoint lies on a non-descript thoroughfare through the heart of Berlin's tourist district. Last time he saw the Brandenburg Gate he stood facing the back of it...the Berlin Wall stopped him from accessing a front view. Now, it is the main attraction on Pariser Platz and is surrounded by embassies, tourists taking pictures, and even a Starbucks on the former East side. Last time he traveled down Unter den Linden, East Berliners would not look him in the eye and the only cars he saw were Trabants. Now the famed street, whose entrance is the Brandenburg Gate, leads anyone and everyone to probably the best museum district in the world.

The city today is a testament to Berliner pride and German Gemütlichkeit. A city once divided, and now reunited.