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NEWS ABOUT: Berlin Wall

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Berlin Wall Turning Into Kitschy Tourist Trap

Many fear a 'Cold War Disneyland': Der Spiegel

(Newser) - Today marks the 50th anniversary of the start of construction on the Berlin Wall, prompting Der Spiegel to assess how Germany is handling its Cold War legacy. Answer: With kitsch, and lots of it. Entrepreneurs have found ways to capitalize, primarily in irreverent ways. They're trying everything from guided... More »

Tea Party Must Drop the Hitler Comparisons

Germans not amused by 'ignorant' name-dropping

(Newser) - The Tea Party and its supporters should keep their hands off German history, argues Charles Hawley for Der Spiegel . It seems many of them can't stop themselves from comparing Barack Obama to Hitler , or talking about death panels , or, in one case, dressing up like a Nazi , he writes. And... More »

Berlin Wall Shooting Game Sparks Fury

Victims' relatives slam 'tasteless' border guard game

(Newser) - Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of German reunification—and the German people are none too pleased with a video game that was set to launch that day. In 1,378—named for the length of the wall, in kilometers—players can assume the role of border guards and shoot or... More »

5 People Married to Inanimate Objects

The Berlin wall's 'wife' calls it 'completely normal'

(Newser) - Think Lee Jin-gyu, who recently married his pillow , was the first to say “I do” to an inanimate object? Think again. The Frisky reveals the stories of four more:
  • Erika La Tour Eiffel: As you might be able to guess from her new last name, this former US Air
... More »

'Vindictive' Documentary on Kennedys Ignites Furor

Right-winger's History Channel biopic blamed JFK for Berlin Wall

(Newser) - A History Channel miniseries on the Kennedy family that won't be aired for nearly a year has already raised the ire of Kennedy historians and liberal critics who call the series' script a historically inaccurate hatchet job that portrays the JFK presidency salaciously. The Kennedys is being produced by Joel... More »

Sarko Lied About Berlin Wall Memories

Critics say French prez fudged dates on 1989 trip

(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy rushed to Berlin 20 years ago to begin chipping away at the Berlin Wall just hours before it fell, he recalls on his Facebook page. There's just one small problem: it never happened, say critics. The French media have been chipping away at Sarkozy's claim, uncovering... More »

Germany Celebrates Fall of the Wall

Twenty years later, unified country celebrates togetherness

(Newser) - Fireworks illuminated the rainy skies above Berlin as Germans and high-profile visitors came together today to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall exactly 20 years ago. President Obama unexpectedly joined the festivities—in a video greeting introduced by Hillary Clinton. "There could be no clearer rebuke of tyranny,... More »

Post-1989 Germany an Unexpected Success

Successes in Europe would boggle a 1989 mind: Applebaum

(Newser) - As “the exhaustive and perfectly blameless celebrations” of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall unfold, Anne Applebaum has a bone to pick. The festivities are “focusing on what didn’t happen rather than what did,” she writes, treating “the past two decades... More »

Germany Hails Anniversary of Berlin Wall's Fall

Dominoes, fireworks, music help mark 20 years

(Newser) - Hundreds of foam dominoes will fall today in Berlin, symbolizing the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has called Nov. 9, 1989, "the happiest day in recent German history," will lead the festivities.... More »

U2's Berlin Show Walled Off

Ticketless fans will need to scale these city walls to peek

(Newser) - Outraged Berliners are complaining that building a new wall in the heart of their city is a less-than-ideal way of marking 20 years since the Berlin Wall came down. U2 will play a free concert in Berlin tonight as part of the weeklong anniversary celebrations, but organizer MTV has erected... More »

Shame on Obama for Skipping Berlin Festivities

(Newser) - Skipping the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall is a bad choice by President Obama, Rick Richman writes, for several reasons:
  • It’s a snub of a personal invitation from German Chancellor Angela Merkel—a key ally and one going all out for the festivities.
  • It’s
... More »

Domino Wall to Fall on Berlin Anniversary

'Domino-Aktion' to mark 20 years since Berlin Wall toppled

(Newser) - Twenty years after a domino effect of resistance toppled Communist regimes across Europe and brought down the Berlin Wall, the Germans are trying it again with actual dominoes. Volunteers have crafted almost 1,000 8-foot-tall Styrofoam dominoes and plan to assemble them along the path of the old Wall through... More »

Thatcher Urged Gorbachev to Block German Reunification

British leader warned Soviets that the change would endanger security

(Newser) - Margaret Thatcher called on Mikhail Gorbachev to halt German reunification months before the Berlin Wall came down, newly unearthed Kremlin documents reveal. Thatcher—telling the Soviet leader he should disregard NATO pronouncements on the issue—said the breakdown of the Warsaw Pact wasn't in the interests of the West, the... More »

Hungary Fetes 1989 'Picnic' That Led to Fall of Berlin Wall

Provided escape from Communism for East Germans

(Newser) - Hungary is celebrating the 20th anniversary today of its “Pan-European Picnic”: the day it opened its border with Austria, providing a pathway for hundreds of East Germans to exit Europe’s communist east. “The Soviet bloc was like an air balloon with over-pressure so it needed only a... More »

20 Years Later, Berlin Starts Saving Wall

(Newser) - After many years of indifference, Berliners have started getting serious about saving what's left of the most famous symbol of the Cold War, Der Spiegel reports. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, locals viewed it as merely an unfortunate reminder of  a bad past and little thought was given... More »

Berlin Wall Becomes Couture

Also, which bracelets are big this summer, and more

(Newser) - The Berlin Wall has long drawn artists, and now the murals they’ve left on its surviving stretch has inspired something else, the AP reports: fashion. Daniel Rodan designed pieces like a green mini dress featuring East Germany’s Erich Honecker kissing Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev for his collection Mauerkleider... More »

German Tempers Heat Up Over Cold War Tourist Traps

'Snackpoint Charlie,' actors in military uniforms labeled disrespectful to dead

(Newser) - The Disneyfication of Cold War landmarks in Berlin has irked people with bad memories of East Germany, the Independent reports. Critics, including former Allied officers and those who suffered under oppressive rule, argue that the atmosphere around places like Checkpoint Charlie—where actors in military uniforms hustle tourists for coins... More »

West 'Wasted 20 Years' After Berlin Wall Fell: Gorbachev

Former Soviet states should unite, he suggests

(Newser) - Europe has squandered two decades of potential cooperation since the Berlin Wall fell, Mikhail Gorbachev says. At a Moscow event sponsored by his foundation, the former Soviet leader criticized Western leaders who viewed the 1989 event as their victory over Eastern Europe, rather than an opportunity for common good, Reuters... More »

Not Exactly JFK, But Obama Leaves Crowd Happy

His speech in Berlin is rather ordinary

(Newser) - Make no mistake, Barack Obama gave a fine speech in Berlin today, writes Shane Danielsen in the Guardian. But any comparisons to JFK can stop right there. His speech hit all the right notes but shaded more toward the ordinary than the memorable. The mood of the mostly young crowd... More »

US Embassy Returns to Berlin's Heart

But 'Fort Knox at the Brandenburg Gate' riles many in German capital

(Newser) - With the July 4 backdrop, the US opened its new embassy in Berlin today, bringing to a close a project planned since reunification. The new facility stands near the historic Brandenburg Gate, the same location as its pre-World War II predecessor. But, the New York Times reports, the building has... More »

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