The Freedom Memorial (german: Freiheitsmahnmal) was a memorial to the victims of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

in the vicinity of the

Checkpoint Charlie Museum The Checkpoint Charlie Museum (german: Das Mauermuseum – Museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie) is a private museum in Berlin. It is named after the famous crossing point on the Berlin Wall, and was created to document the so-called "best bord ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. It opened on October 31, 2004, and was praised by both victims of the

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

communist regime and human rights advocates alike. In 2004,

Alexandra Hildebrandt Alexandra Hildebrandt (née Weissmann, born on 27 February 1959) is a German human rights activist and museum director of the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. In 1995, she married the museum's co-founder and former director Rainer Hildebrandt, and they ...

leased an empty lot near the site of the former Checkpoint Charlie, and installed the Freedom Memorial to the victims of the border forces. While welcomed by many, it was criticized by Berlin officials as being historically and symbolically inaccurate, and for being erected by a private individual without a public process. The following year, the lease was terminated by the land owner, a bank. Hildebrand refused to clear out the monument, and the crosses which made up the memorial were removed by bailiffs following a court order.

References

External links

Checkpoint Charlie Museum
Monuments and memorials in Berlin Berlin Wall Human rights abuses Political repression in Germany {{Germany-sculpture-stub