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Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

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Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#2
DW anniversary special:

60 years ago, the Berlin Wall went up, dividing the city — and more

https://www.dw.com/en/60-years-ago-the-berlin-wall-went-up-d...

The East German secret police and the Berlin Wall

https://www.dw.com/en/the-east-german-secret-police-and-the-...

Underground pop art thrived in East Germany

https://www.dw.com/en/underground-pop-art-thrived-in-east-ge...

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#3
The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now.

Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information.

Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin.

There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting.

Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think about those

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#4
I live in Berlin, I tried to cycle home yesterday past Bernauer Strasse (pictured) but the police had completely blocked off the whole region with barricades and around 20 police wagons.

I'm pretty sure the irony of commemorating the Berlin wall and its fall via people with guns stopping the public from crossing was lost on them.

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#5

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

> the idea of a city split into two

We see this more often than not. The modern version just omit the walls

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/upshot/2020-electio...

> physical barrier could affect the spread of information Don't you think that there is a component of physical barrier in today's internet? while this may sound odd for the Americans, this is very typical in many parts of the world (East Europe, Asia and parts of Africa and Latin America)

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#6

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

"The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now."

Current reality in Nicosia (capital of Cyprus, a EU nation).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Buffer_Zone_in_...

>"The Turkish army has built a barrier on the zone's northern side, consisting mainly of barbed-wire fencing, concrete wall segments, watchtowers, anti-tank ditches, and minefields. The zone cuts through the centre of Nicosia, separating the city into southern and northern sections. In total, it spans an area of 346 square kilometres (134 sq mi), varying in width from less than 20 metres (66 ft) to more than 7 kilometres (4.3 mi).[2][3][4] Because of this, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Nicosia remains the last divided capital in Europe.[5][6]"

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#7

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

> The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now.

Jerusalem says hi.

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#8
Odd/amusing point, the Stasi referred to the wall as the "antifascist defense border". Although these days, I'm a bit torn on the term as I see rent prices jacked up across the world by whomever can borrow money at the lowest rate.

The Stasi and the Berlin Wall | DW Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haxkWC6MgcQ

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#9
Berlin had the most memorable wall but the entire country was divided by a wall as well.

My mom's family abandoned their house and factory and fled to the west when the Russians took their property and punished them for being capitalists. Since the wall wasn't up yet they left through Berlin, which was like a porthole to the west at the time.

Re: Berlin, a divided city. The events of 60 years ago

#10

The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now. Also, the idea that a physical barrier could affect the spread of information. Its interesting how much of 20th century history centers on Berlin. There's a wall museum in Berlin, well worth visiting. Edit: thanks for the reminders about contemporary split cities, sobering to think a…

> The idea of a city split into two by ideologically opposing factions, and the split being marked by a big wall, sounds like sci-fi now.

Say welcome to the "Peace lines" or "Peace walls" [0] in Belfast and other cities in North Ireland. There's also Jerusalem, Nicosia and more places with walls around certain areas.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_lines

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