Berlin Wall Turns 50

Berlin’s mayor decries “fashionable leftist nostalgia” for the Berlin Wall in a sombre ceremony marking its 50th anniversary.

It’s the least celebrated 50th anniversary since the one for Stalin’s death. A somber ceremony marked the anniversary of the world’s most notorious Cold War monument as crowds gathered around a reconstructed segment of the enormous concrete barrier. Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit reminded attendees that the wall was part of a dictatorship and chastised those who "nostalgically distort" the history of Germany's division and the barrier that prevented people from escaping to West Berlin. He stressed that despite what some may say, there were no good reasons for the Wall's construction. "No! There’s no legitimate reason nor justification for violating human rights and for killings,” he told the crowd. Touché, Wowereit, touché.