Remembering the Wall

Twenty years ago, this Wall still existed. And that ‘death strip’ still existed—a cleared space overseen by 116 watchtowers from which guards would shoot anyone trying to cross over to freedom in West Berlin. This from Wikipedia:
‘If an escapee was wounded in a crossing attempt and lay on the death strip, no matter how close [he was] to the Western wall, [he] could not be rescued for fear of triggering engaging fire from the 'Grepos', the East Berlin border guards. The guards often let fugitives bleed to death in the middle of this ground, like … Peter Fechter (aged 18). He was shot and bled to death in full view of the Western media, on August 17, 1962…. The last person to be shot while trying to cross the border was Chris Gueffroy on February 6, 1989’—i.e., nine months before the Wall came tumbling down. Whatever dreary atrocities we must live with in the 21st century, at least Europe is not divided by that scar any longer, of countries that had to build barriers to keep their people in. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford