Huge news coming out from Berlin the last few months was regarding the plans for the destruction of the remainder of the ‘East Side Gallery‘ section of the Berlin wall. Can you believe it?! When i heard i was shocked, but not surprised…

I was recently in Berlin for ITB again… the last two years I have happily stayed wt PLUS Berlin, which is just a few minutes walk away from the East Side Gallery. Great location, right near Kruezberg and hot clubs like Chalet and Berghain/Panorama.

While I was there, my good friend living in Berlin was telling me how these German property developers wanted to build river side apartments, right where the wall is. So, that was that – the wall was meant to be coming down, much to the disgust of many locals. An uproar was of course brewing back then (a month ago), so no surprise when at 5am this morning, when two hundred police turned up to ‘protect’ the developers (builders doing their dirty work) and protesters – it quickly filtered through to news around the world. Especially when a chunk of the wall was removed!

I don’t personally know all the details…but I can’t help think – wtf?! What are these guys thinking of starting the process of demolishing a unique part of Berlin’s history. Something that has become a major tourist attraction.. something that has brought art to the community and city… colour to grey… life to oppression. Is it simply better to erase and forget the dirty history for some, rather than having to be reminded of it daily? I think for the majority – NO!

Leave the damn wall alone. It was already iconic when it stood, a legend when it fell…. and now the remainder is an institution. Why plan to put it in a museum somewhere, or in a ‘retirement’ art park elsewhere in the city? Why not let it live where it has stood, live where it belongs… where visitors from Berlin, from Germany, who are connected in some way to its history – can come and visit and reflect. Where tourists and history buffs can wander freely, can touch the wall of former division, take photos of the iconic images in natural settings. Why make way for ‘gentrification’ and erase an important part of WORLD history. An important freestanding tourist attraction and multiple human interest story.

I will be watching the news keenly for how this story unfolds… and my friends and clients in Berlin will be keeping me up to date of course. I can’t image visiting Berlin and not driving or walking past a hugely relevant piece of its history.

SAVE THE WALL!

Berlin can be reached by Ryanair or Easyjet