Historians and locals in Berlin are furious after a 196-foot chunk of the Berlin Wall disappeared almost overnight to make way for luxury condominiums.
According to the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, “developers tore down a section of the historic structure in Pankow, a borough in northeastern Berlin,” with no one bothering to alert the Berlin Wall Foundation — which was established in 2008 to document the wall’s history and preserve its remains.
“The partial demolition of the continuous piece of the hinterland wall … is a clear loss of original wall remains,” Manfred Wichmann, head of the foundation, told the newspaper.
The section of the wall had been covered in graffiti by local artists but had not been designated as a special historical area — so local contractors could take advantage of the loophole.
Much of the wall that is left intact is designated (or considered) to be public memorials to the devastation of the city during the Cold War.
The remains of the wall represent “a stone witness of how deeply the border regime of the German Democratic Republic intervened in the everyday life of the people in East Berlin,” Wichmann told Der Tagesspiegel.
The Pankow section that was torn down was part of an inner wall that was a deterrent to potential escapees. It was the largest section of wall that still remained intact.
“Around 15 miles of the Berlin Wall are still standing today. Most are enshrined as historical sites. … Outside of the memorialized stretches, less than a mile of the wall remains,” according to the Smithsonian.



