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Picture 1:
The sectorial border on the bank of the river Spree near the bridge "Oberbaumbrücke".
This bridge, which connects two districts and whose towers give it the character of a
city gate, was destroyed on Hitler's orders – together with nearly all the bridges in
Berlin. After the war, the bridge served as a major crossing point for pedestrians between
the Soviet and American zones. When the wall came up in 1961, the bridge went more or less
out of use for a decade, except as a crossing point for political prisoners of the GDR
released into the West. This was also one of the places where people trying to swim across
to West Berlin were shot.
After German unification in 1990, the bridge was thoroughly reconstructed. A "message to
future generations" was written and hidden in the top of one of the towers. This message
expresses the wish that the bridge may never again be senselessly destroyed and may serve
to unite people for a long time to come. |
