The Freedom Memorial () was a memorial to the victims of the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...
in the vicinity of the
Checkpoint Charlie Museum in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. It opened on October 31, 2004, and was praised by both victims of the
GDR communist regime and human rights advocates alike.
Memorial
In 2004,
Alexandra Hildebrandt leased an empty lot near the site of the former Checkpoint Charlie, and installed the Freedom Memorial to the victims of the border forces. While welcomed by many, it was criticized by Berlin officials as being historically and symbolically inaccurate, and for being erected by a private individual without a public process.
The following year, the lease was terminated by the land owner, a bank. Hildebrand refused to clear out the monument, and the crosses which made up the memorial were removed by bailiffs following a court order.
References
External links
Checkpoint Charlie Museum
{{Public art in Berlin
Monuments and memorials in Berlin
Berlin Wall
Human rights abuses
Political repression in Germany