The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Part of Berlin Wall on Kennesaw State campus
Q: I heard part of the Berlin Wallis in Cobb County. If so, where is it?
A: The 10-foot tall, 2.7ton structure is on display at Kennesaw State University. This part of the Berlin Wall is outside the College of Humanities and Social Sciences building on the the Kenne saw campus, offff Campus Loop Road and Bartow Avenue.
Students rush between classes and spend time studying next to the wall, but few know its history or even realize it is on campus.
A professor recently asked 220communication students in the Social Sciences building if they knew where the Berlin Wall was located on campus. About 30 said they knewit was 28 steps outside the building they were in.
A yellow sun with a happy face is painted on one side. On the other side is grafiti.
Behind the wall is the Legacy Gazebo, an outdoor amphitheater with a small stage under the pavilion to host small concerts.
Former State Senator Chuck Clayton loaned the portion of the Berlin Wall to KSU in 2009. A plaque nearby explains the wall’s importance and how it came to arrive at the university.
The AJC reported then that Clay received the slab around 2002 during a trip to Germany. It was a gift to honor his grandfather, Gen. Lucius D. Clay of Marietta, who commanded American forces in Europe after WorldWar II and organized the Berlin airlift.
The 1948-49 airlift helped break the Soviet blockade of Berlin.
“I like the idea that people who are studying history can see this piece of history and put their hands on it,” Clay told the AJC in 2009. “I want people to understand this wall, which they can see is just a few inches thick, divided and isolated people. It reminds people of what tyranny looks like.”
The barrier was initially a temporary border of barbed wire, but turned into a con- crete wall. It was nearly 12 feet high and about 27miles long, according to CNN. There were 302 guard towers. East Germany laid “more than one million land mines” and deployed “around 3,000 attack dogs,” according to the network. About 140people died at the border.
“The most famous border crossing was known as Check point Charlie ,” according to CNN.
The wall separated West and East Germany from1961 to 1989, and “became one of the most powerful and visible symbols of the Cold War,” according to the sign next to the monument at the KSU campus.
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