Freedom Center Site for Berlin Wall Monument
The Freedom Center will be the site of a permanent section of the Berlin Wall.
Mayor Mark Mallory announced today that a piece of the Berlin Wall would be permanently displayed on the Southwest lawn of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The 12 ft by 4ft piece of the Berlin Wall, weighing two tons, is a gift to the City of Cincinnati from the City of Berlin. The area around the wall will become part of an outdoor learning exhibit on the Wall’s historical significance.
“The Freedom Center sits on the banks of the Ohio River, another barrier to freedom that eventually fell,” Mallory said. “It is natural that this institution that celebrates freedom should serve as the home for another symbol of the ongoing struggle for freedom and justice.”
The Munich Sister City Association of Greater Cincinnati, the Honorary Consul of Germany in Cincinnati, and other individuals have worked with the City of Berlin to bring the piece of wall to Cincinnati. A Berlin Wall Site Selection Committee convened to evaluate prospective site locations.
“The Freedom Center is tremendously honored to be chosen as the location for the Berlin Wall monument,” said Donald Murphy, CEO of the Freedom Center. “Like the Freedom Center itself, this section of the wall is a testament to freedom and the power of the human spirit.”
Twenty years ago today, Cincinnati formally entered into a Sister City agreement with the city of Munich. On September 18, 1989, when the agreement was signed, the world was witnessing the collapse of East Germany. Less than two months later, the Berlin Wall officially fell.
On August 13, 1961, the government of East Germany split Berlin in half with a wall of concrete. Over the years, many people were killed attempting to escape to West Berlin through this brutal barrier to freedom. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. During that autumn, hundreds of thousands of East Germans peacefully marched in opposition to the oppressive regime, courageous acts of resistance inspired by the American civil-rights movement.
