Did you know there’s a piece of the Berlin Wall in London?
A piece of the Berlin Wall stands in Lambeth
This year marks 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. From 1961 to 1989, a guarded concrete barrier divided West and East Berlin. During its 28 year life span, over 80 people died trying to cross the wall. Finally, on 9 November 1989 the wall started to come down and was destroyed by Berliners, uniting the city once again. I was at primary school when the wall fell and remember my impassioned teacher telling us about this historic moment during assembly, which I was a bit too young to understand.
Various pieces of the Berlin Wall survive today. In the gardens of the Imperial War Museum in London, there is a piece of the wall complete with original street art. It features the words ‘Change Your Life’ in a giant mouth by graffiti artist Indiana (Jurgen Grosse). The 3.64 metre high section comes from near the Leuschnerdamm in the Kreuzberg district and was acquired by the Imperial War Museum in 1991. It is believed the slogan ‘Change Your Life’ may be from the German poem Archaischer Torso Apollos (Torso of an Archaic Apollo).
- Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, Lambeth, SE1 6HZ. Nearest station: Lambeth North.
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Posted on 11 Jan 2019, in art, History, London, Tourist Attractions and tagged Imperial War Museum, Lambeth, Street art. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
Memoirs Of A Metro Girl 
I remover this moment so well, like the moon landing when I was tiny. Two amazing moments in history that I’ve been honoured to see. I was heavily pregnant with my fist child when the wall came down, it was so hot here (Australia) we were in our second week of 40 degree heat (it hadn’t dropped below 35 at night), and for a few minutes I cupped my belly and felt Hannah move, I thought of all the lives lost in the name of freedom, and how symbolic the moment was. For ten minutes I forgot about stifling heat, and did a happy dance.
*Remember, not ‘remover’. Aye carumba, autocorrect. Lol
I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall very well. And I remember regretting not making it to West Berlin when the wall still stood while I was living in London in the 1970s. In 2000, to celebrate his convocation from university, I took my son to visit London. He wanted to see the Imperial War Museum; I have a photo of him beside this very piece of the Berlin Wall.