Rebuilding the Berlin Wall

Souvenir hunters chip away at the redundant wall

It's almost 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Its pieces have been spread far and wide around the world. Some chunks are on show in national museums and smaller fragments have been kept by people wanting a unique historical souvenir. Do you have a piece of the wall? Or have you seen one where you live?

GDR guards look through a gap in the Berlin Wall

In 1961 the German Democratic Republic (GDR) built the Berlin Wall. It came to symbolise the Iron Curtain between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc. The wall was policed by guards and patrols. It is believed that over 5,000 people tried to escape from the Eastern bloc.

On 9 November 1989 the East German government announced that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere.

Over the following weeks, parts of the wall were chipped off and taken away by locals and tourists. Industrial equipment was later used to remove almost all of the rest. Some people took segments and souvenirs and some were given to institutions around the world.

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