"These words from the 23rd Psalm are painted in German on the wall, "Though I walk through the dark valley, I will not fear.” When the wall came down, The Great Passion Play acquired this piece as a tribute to the spirit of all people who risk their lives to believe and practice their Christian faith.
These words, painted in German by a brave East Berliner, one supposes in the dark of night, are a touching quotation. In darkness, this man saw light; in despair, the Word of God; in repression, hope for freedom. Purchased by the Elna M Smith Foundation in 1991, this original 10-foot by 10-foot section of the Berlin Wall will stand as a reminder of the price that has been paid for Freedom.
Following World War II, on June 24, 1948, the Berlin Airlift was begun by the Allies. Between the years 1945-61, over 2.7 million people fled to West Germany. In 1960, alone, more than 200,000 East Germans crossed over to West Germany, mostly through West Berlin.
Authorized by the Kremlin, the order for the wall to be built was given at 1:11am on Sunday, August 13, 1961. Actual construction began on August 16, 1961. The wall stood as a physical symbol of man’s opposition of man, and as an edifice of godless leaders’ defiance of Holy God Himself.
While walls have been built throughout the history of man, the Berlin wall was the only one ever designed to hold a country’s people in the grip of murderous tyranny. The blood-spattered wall was first built 6-foot high of bricks topped with barbed wire. However, by 1970, the wire and brick were replaced by uniform steel reinforced concrete panels and raised to 10-feet.
In the early days, the surface was bare and gray, with only scattered graffiti. But at the end of the 1960’s, student movement discovered the wall as a perfect medium for visual protest.
The wall Art aesthetic evolved from the harsh working conditions faced by the artists-not only the difficult surface of the Wall ‘canvas’, but also potential interference by the authorities, which forced most work to be done at night.
Most themes relate directly to the wall, its meaning and function, depicting the hope of overcoming borders, and the wish for the wall to fall, These thoughts are conveyed by pictures of zippers, holes, doors, ladders, stairs, etc.
Approximately 200 escape-related deaths were reported in the wall’s 28 years. The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, with a shout of freedom heard and rejoiced around the world!
This exceptional remnant of the Berlin Wall was transported from Berlin to Bremen, Germany, then shipped to the Port of Houston (Texas), and from there delivered by truck to Eureka Springs."
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