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November 22, 2008 11:30:58 AM CST

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Leaders Press for Berlin Cold War Museum

Posted Jun 18, 08 3:21 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Berlin would finally get a museum dedicated to the Cold War if a group of high-profile politicians get their way. Led by former Czech President Vaclav Havel, the group is urging Germany to build the structure at Checkpoint Charlie, the infamous crossing point that connected the city when it was split by the Berlin Wall.

The checkpoint now means little to many of Berlin’s visitors who have “immense difficulty finding traces of the once all-pervasive conflict,” according to a group statement. “What better place could there be for such a museum than Berlin?” asked one official. Former Soviet chief Mikhail Gorbachev supports the initiative.

Source Der Spiegel

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Flowers stick in a portion of the Berlin wall during a 2007 commemoration ceremony, 18 years after it fell on November 9, 1989.   (Axel Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
Tourists walk along what was once part of the wall separating East from West Berlin. Part of the wall has deteriorated and needs to be renovated.   (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Former Czech president Vaclav Havel is leading an initiative to build a Cold War museum in Berlin.   (AP Photo/CTK, Marta Myskova)
At the former Checkpoint Charlie, workers dismantle wooden crosses at a Cold War memorial composed of 1065 wooden crosses and a reconstructed portion of the former wall.   (Michael Kappeler/AFP/Getty Images)
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says he supports plans to build a Cold War museum in Berlin.   (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)
Checkpoint Charlie was the most famous crossing point between East and West Berlin during the period when the Berlin Wall divided the city.   (AFP/Getty Images)
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