MANILA, Philippines - A portion of the Berlin Wall reserved for the Philippines is expected to arrive in the country early next year.
According to a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Berlin city government turned over a deed of donation for the citizens of Manila to Philippine Embassy Chargé d’affaires Mardomel Melicor.
The section called “Mauerteil” is 22nd of the series of 40 that were formerly located at Potsdamer Platz.
The Berlin Senate noted that “it was happy that part of the Berlin Wall would stand in Manila as a monument to remember that it was possible to successfully overcome and reunify divisions in Berlin and Europe.”
Sending the wall section, which stands 3.65 meters tall and 1.2 meters wide, is part of the Berlin Senate's initiative to commemorate the importance of its fall.
The Berlin Wall served as a barrier between the communist-ruled German Democratic Republic of East Germany and the Federal Republic of Germany or West Germany from 1961 to 1989.
Its fall marked the end of communist rule in Eastern Europe and eventually led to the abolition of the Soviet Union. Portions of the wall were donated to the Berlin Senate afterwards.