Culver City,
California
x
Zertifikat
Maker: Unknown
Date Made: 1989
Country: West Germany; Germany
Materials: paper
Measurements: 10.5 cm x 15 cm; 4 1/8 in x 5 7/8 in
Small printed certificate onwhite paper, which certifies that a fragment of the Berlin Wall is an authentic, original piece of the Berlin Wall. In the centre of the certificate is a black and white print of the Brandenburger Tor, or Brandenburg Gate. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, people in West Berlin began to chip away at parts of the Wall, often trying to collect the graffiti artworks that had been sprayed onto the Wall over the years of its existence. These people became known as "Mauerspechte", or Wall woodpeckers, for the way that they pecked away at the Wall, often leaving holes. Fragments of the Berlin Wall were a way to remember the Berlin Wall, but they were also popular as tourist souvenirs. Certificates of authenticity like this one raised the value of the wall fragment by verifying it as a true piece of history, rather than a forgery. It is likely that this certificate was made and distributed by Alwin Nachtweh, one of the most well-known of the "Mauerspechte", who made his living selling pieces of the Berlin Wall after its fall. This certificate shows how the Wall transformed from a forbidding structure, responsible for multiple deaths, to a tourist souvenir. It also shows how quickly the Berlin Wall became historicised, and how it became possible to own a piece of that history.
Accession Number: 2017.015.022
Collection/Series: Peter Bochmann Border Guard Collection