Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin (photo from David's Medienkritik) -- a heart-stoppingly poignant memorial of "over one thousand crosses dedicated to all those who were murdered trying to escape East German Communist rule" -- is slated for demolition by those who would airbrush history [via teaparty at Les Enfants Terrible]
The image of Checkpoint Charlie at David's Medienkritik recalls WWI's Flanders fields, where "the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row":
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
We're reminded of those stiff and stern empty chairs at Oklahoma City, too. Now the Berlin powers that be, including former members of the SED party that ran Communist East Germany, have decided to allow the razing of the Checkpoint Charlie monument by court order. Ray D. at David's Medienkritik explains:
To justify their decision to allow the removal, both members of the SPD and PDS have described the Checkpoint Charlie monument as an eye-sore or as something that trivializes the Cold War by turning the city into a Disneyland-style theme park.
And get this: The monument, which consists of over 1,000 crosses adorned with the names of those murdered attempting to escape Communist East Germany for freedom, will be bulldozed on the 4th of July!
"The Socialists and Communists in Berlin's city government don't want to be constantly reminded of the murders that the SED dictatorship committed during the Cold War," writes Ray D:
How unpleasant that would be for them! So they would rather allow the crosses to be bulldozed on July 4th and mockingly associate the monument with Disneyland, a place that many Germans see as a symbol of trivial American commercialization.
At worst, put the crosses out on eBay. At best, how about this? Instead of outright razing (not sure exactly what they're planning), remove and carefully package each cross and send, together with a layout plan, to George Pataki, the man who has the final say as to what goes up at Ground Zero. We suggest a resurrection of the Checkpoint Charlie monument at Ground Zero in place of the proposed anti-American, Soros-sponsored International Peace Center.
It looks as if Armageddon awaits us as the "Intellectual Morons" ride triumphant.
Posted by: goomp | June 28, 2005 at 09:13 AM
Disneyland... I don't see any rides in the background of the picture. I don't see any theme restaurants. I don't see characters in big goofy costumes getting their pics taken with kids in front of the monument... I wonder which Disney theme park they've visited to bring on this comparison.
Posted by: Teresa | June 28, 2005 at 03:15 PM