Today’s’ #SameHere Heroes, plural: those who lived in the same country, separated by this massive wall for decades!
The Berlin Wall, separating East and West Germany was up from 1961-1989. 96 miles long. Just under 12’ high. 302 Watch Towers. 20 Bunkers. Separating people. Separating cultures. Separating families. Separating ways of life. And on and on and on. Talk about #SameHere challenges.
Today the remnants of the wall are painted with sections of murals. Some of my favorites depicted here.
This one I’m in front of is perhaps the most well-known and visited: “The Kiss” which depicts the infamous embrace, known as the Socialist Fraternal Kiss, between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German President Erich Honecker. It took place in 1979 in honor of the 30th anniversary of the German Demonstrated Republic, or East Germany. The mural was painted by Dmitri Wrubel, and under the image is a slogan reading, “My God Help me to Survive this Deadly Love.”
It’s tragically ironic that on World Mental Health Day we are living through a set of global events making our world anything but mentally healthy