Published: 27 July, 2009, 20:20
Edited: 27 July, 2009, 20:20
To mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the historical event that has become the modern symbol of the victory of democracy, the Moscow House of Photography is opening the exhibition “Falling of the Berlin Wall.”
The Berlin Wall, separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic, was broken down on November 9, 1989, after standing for more than a quarter of a century. The event was a milestone not only for Germany, but for the whole world.
The works of photographers and photojournalists display a tremendous emotional charge and capture the atmosphere of pleasure and unification that captured West and East Berlin at the moment of the wall’s collapse.
The expo includes works about the Berlin Wall by the 2009 winner of World Press Photo award, Anthony Suau, as well as the “Berlin Kreuzberg S036” series by Peter Frischmuth. Materials for the exhibition were provided by the Berlin Wall Museum (Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie), the Sakharov Museum and Public Center, and the Reuters and RIA Novosti news agencies.
 Check Point on Oberbaumbrucke / November 11, 1989 |
Visitors to the exhibit can get a sense of the atmosphere that existed during the decades when Berlin was divided into two. In East Berlin it was forbidden to come close to the wall, and 98 people were confirmed killed trying to cross it. On the other side the rules were not so cruel, and the people of West Berlin could climb up the Kreuzberg observation tower to look at what was going on on the other side. A full-scale, 4.5-meter-high replica of the Kreuzberg tower, the brainchild of architect Yury Avvakumov, will be constructed in the exhibition hall.
The Western side of the wall became a platform for creativity of numerous artists, both professional and amateur. By 1989, it had long become a prominent exhibition for graffiti.
The opening of the expo will take place in Moscow’s Manezh on July 29, and the display will be on display through August 30.