It’s been 35 years to the day since the Berlin Wall came down, ending nearly as many years of Cold War antagonism between the two halves of the fractured city and ushering the reunification of Germany at large, reuniting families and friends long separated by political forces beyond their control. Namely, the global conflict that pitted the USSR in the east against the U.S. and its allies in the west. Its shadow loomed over the art created on both sides, and its divisive presence is still felt to this day.
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But relics of this era are falling into the past as history weary Berlin is contemporized. Construction projects are ubiquitous as old, weird, often gritty buildings are torn down and new, weird, often shiny buildings are erected in their place. To see what remains, you’ll have to act fast.
We’ll start with the Wall itself. Pieces of it are scattered about, preserved in both prominent plazas and hidden corners. Potsdamer Platz—a bustling, upscale commercial center once split by the barrier, the then-barren bleakness of the westside wasteland starkly different from the polished, touristy space it is today—bears a stretch of several panels that stand at the hub between Brandenburg Gate and the outstanding Neue Nationalgalerie. The collection at the latter spans the past century or so, and it is rife with aggressive works of wide-ranging political import, many of which provide an ominous glimpse into the culture produced under the oppressive atmosphere of the Wall. A few blocks east, tucked among the bushes on Wilhelmstraße, hides a Wall sliver decorated by Thierry........