LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN...I MEAN THE BERLIN WALL!

What were you doing 20 years ago today?  Were you selling real estate, entering college, in grade school?  Today marks the 20th anniversary of the falling of the Berlin Wall in Germany.  The Berlin Wall was constructed in August of 1961 by the German Democratic Repulic to stop East Berliners from escaping from the Soviet-controlled East German state into the West of the city.  The West of the city was occupied by the Americans, British and French. 

The Berlin Wall started as a barbed wire fence that was 96 miles long and in 1962 a second fence was put up parrallel to the first but up 100 yards further.  The area inbetween the two was cleared and known as "Death Strip".  "Death Strip" was lined with gravel, making it easy to spot footprints in that open area and easy to aim fire.  It was also booby trapped and marked a place of many deaths. 

In 1965 a concrete wall was added, which served until 1975 when the infamous ‘Stützwandelement UL 12.11' was constructed. Known also as Grenzmauer 75 (Border Wall '75), it was the final and most sophisticated version of the Wall. It was made from 45,000 separate sections of reinforced concrete, each 3.6 m high and 1.5 m wide, and topped with a smoothpipe, intended to make it more difficult for escapees to scale it. The Grenzmauerwas reinforced by mesh fencing, signal fencing, anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire, over 300 watchtowers, and thirty bunkers.

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"; American President Ronald Reagan famously demanded in 1987 in front of the Brandenburg Gate.  The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 represented the collapse of totalitarismand was a symbolic event that helped bring Germany together as a whole with Europe. 

Today there will be a 20th anniversary celebration called the "Festival of Freedom" beginning withan open-air concert at PariserPlatz by the Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Daniel Barenboim. After the concert, the fall of the Berlin Wall will be symbolized withthe toppling of a domino wall along the entire wall path. by knocking over dominos.

Freedom is a precious thing.  Cherish it forever.