West-Berliners hacking pieces of the Berlin Wall on November 11, 1989. The GDR joined the federalFrom a symbol of oppression to one defining the end of an era, the Berlin Wall remains inextricably linked to the history of the German capital.
What used to be a heavily-guarded 96-mile-long barrier standing almost 12-foot tall has mostly been reduced to either slabs of graffiti-covered concrete like in Berlin’s East Side Gallery or to millions of spray-painted tiny pieces sold to tourists looking for a physical reminder of their trip. The West Berlin native has now semi-retired from the business day-to-day operation and no longer gives interviews. Julian Sacha has taken over the management of the website der-berlinshop.de and is now charged with passing down its origin story.courtesy of United1871
Pawlowski, however, found a way to stand out from the competition: He was the first person to package the pieces. “This was the start of his business. He started to glue pieces of the wall into acryl glass,” Sacha says, adding: “Also, he invented a small plastic container in which you can put a piece of the Berlin Wall and put it into a postcard.”