This fragment of the Berlin Wall stands on permanent display outside of the James A. Baker III School of Public Policy on the campus of Rice University in Houston.
A VERY hard to decipher plaque at the base of the wall reads as follows:
"BERLIN WALL SECTION
The Berlin Wall separated the world of oppression from the world of freedom from 1961 to 1989. It was taken down by the heroic people of East and West Germany on November 10, 1989.
President George H. W. Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III led American Foreign policy during this revolutionary time, and during the ultimately successful effort unify Germany in peace and freedom.
This section of the Berlin Wall represents a monument to freedom and was made available to Rice University by Browning-Ferris Industries at the urging of Dr. Mary McIntire, Dean of the College of Continuing Studies."
From the Memorial Examiner newspaper: (
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"Berlin Wall Fragment Can Be a Historical Touchstone
by Charlotte Aguilar
Posted: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 12:00 am | Updated: 6:55 pm, Mon Nov 22, 2010.
It’s a bit daunting, for several reasons, to stand in front of the segment of what was once the Berlin Wall, on permanent display outside the Baker School at Rice University.
As students scurry by the monument, one must remember that most of them weren’t born yet or certainly had no awareness of the event or the impact when the wall came tumbling down 20 years ago Nov. 9.
But for the older among us, the memories and the symbolism are powerful — the images of a divided city and country and a divisive political philosophy that finally met its match at the hands of a peaceful revolution more than 25 years after the wall went up. There is the memory of John F. Kennedy and his ich bin ein Berliner speech, attended by a sea of wildly cheering listeners in an era when much of the world still looked to the U.S. for moral leadership.
The graffiti-bedecked concrete sliver is easy to miss on a campus studded with so many large, graceful buildings and a towering canopy of green.
But it’s worth seeking out for a brief encounter with the history right in our midst — and perhaps a teachable moment or two.
Text and photos by
CHARLOTTE AGUILAR"