Today I went on a brief tour of the Berlin Wall, from Potsdamer Platz to Checkpoint Charlie. I couldn't stop wondering why more art hasn't been created about life in divided Berlin*: scenes of people going to work on the U-Bahn passing closed stations with armed guards and 1950s advertisements; escape attempts via underground tunnel, zip-wire, or hot-air balloon;
the children who lost balls over the wall and maybe heard scattered gunshots at night. It's such a rich topic, and an astonishing bit of recent history.
Also good to learn that most of the Wall was recycled and now lives on as parking lots and streets in the city. Umweltschutz vor allem!
*And no, Das Leben der Anderen doesn't count. I need to see the Wall in a lead role.
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