Читать книгу Where in the World is the Berlin Wall?. 170 Sites around the World онлайн

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Almost overnight, the Wall became a highly sought-after object, a trophy of the Cold War, an export hit and a symbol. If, during its 29 years in existence, the Wall had simply been a symbol of the Socialist system’s inhumanity and oppression, it had become a symbol of civil courage and the will for freedom overnight. No other construction in Germany, and perhaps Europe, had such grave consequences on so many people in the second half of the 20^th century. No other construction from this period became a symbol of oppression and dictatorship, contempt for basic human rights and, finally, for taking hostage of millions of people by a regime formed on injustice. After the Fall of the Wall, no other construction went from being a symbol of oppression and contempt for mankind to a symbol of the will for freedom and civil courage.

In the weeks and months after the Wall fell, requests from all over the world for pieces of the Wall increased and on 7^th December / 4^th January 1990, the GDR government, under Hans Modrow, decided to sell it. It was hoped that selling the Wall would help save the GDR economy which was heading towards bankruptcy. With offers of up to 500,000 Deutsche Mark per section⁶, these hopes were warranted.