ABSTRACT
The memorial was enclosed on its southern side by segments of the Berlin Wall, not decorated by artists but whitewashed, which had been arranged to form a solid, 200-meter-long barrier. In 1990, the senate of Berlin sold this most important plot in the free world to private investors. The investors were told to erect a monument in a central place, which was supposed to keep the spirit and historical importance of the location alive. This location had been chosen because Bernauer Strasse was considered a "focal point of Germany's division" in Berlin. Critics argued that the Berlin Wall was being commemorated at Bernauer Strasse "not as an inescapable aspect of everyday life in Berlin, but instead as a quasi-archaeological find to be protected against any kind of use". In 2004, the Checkpoint Charlie Museum had 700,000 visitors annually, making it the second most popular museum in Berlin after the Pergamon.
