How readers acquired bits of the Berlin Wall

To mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we asked readers to tell us how they had managed to obtain their own piece of the historic barrier. Here are some of their stories:

In 1991, I was backpacking Europe and spent the day walking along the Berlin Wall. I smashed away chunks of it with an iron bar in a quiet section, while a blond German boy tagged along, helping me to find good pieces (I bought him a hot dog for lunch). On my train to Amsterdam I realized I had left my rocks on the station platform, so in the middle of the night I got off at a deserted station, waited hours for the next train back, and went back to Berlin. The rocks were gone so I had to smash away more pieces. I have one on my desk at work. — Michael Lyman, Largo, Fla.

My father, Lt. Arthur J. Leedy, fought in World War II and was a proud veteran all of his life. When the wall came down, I was friends with a couple over in Germany who got my father a 4" x 4" colorful piece of the "wall" as it was being handed out to spectators by the hundreds. She brought the piece back to me and I made the trip to my elderly father's home. It was the most emotion I had ever seen on his face! He touched it with shaking fingers and held it to him and said, "I earned this piece of history." It was a defining moment for us both. — Cynthia C. Owen, Henderson, Texas

I was born and raised in East Germany. When the Wall came down in 1989 I was 31 years old.
My mother and I took the night train to Berlin. It was a short notice decision, not planned at all. We had a small travel suitcase, a hammer and a chisel with us. We also had our combined fortune of 67.45 West German Marks to get a birthday gift for my son and bananas. It was just an amazing atmosphere. It is hard to describe, we talked to total strangers and we all did feel like knowing each other forever. Mom and I took our chisel and hammer out and just joined people already working on their claim of the wall. This concrete was to last forever. It was very hard and it took me a great deal of effort to get some little pieces loose. After we accomplished our mission, we just walked around on the “other “side of the Wall enjoying West Berlin. We bought our bananas and a small gift for my son and took the night train back home to Thuringia. — Elke Guratzsch, Washington, Ind.

Denim overalls
From September 1989 to August 1990 I was studying in Germany on a Fulbright Fellowship. We danced and sang with those celebrating around the Brandenburg Gate.  Later, a young man had a hammer and a crowbar and was chipping away at the wall, so I asked to borrow his hammer.  I quickly had as many pieces of the wall as I was willing to carry. My best memory is the train ride back to my university from Berlin. I was wearing denim overalls and sitting in a compartment with 5 East Germans. A lady commented on the way I was dressed, and I explained I was American. Suddenly I was being embraced by all these strangers, while they laughed and cried. One older lady said, "In my whole life I've never traveled anywhere and been able to speak freely with other travelers." — Jamie Kohen, Millry, Ala.

I was in the U.S. Air Force, stationed at Sembach Air Base, Germany. We watched the glorious event on television in our apartment in Kaiserslautern/Volgelweh, Germany, and heard the partying in the streets outside. The weeks that followed were exciting, especially to see all the people from East Germany traveling through our area, "free at last". A couple of months later in January or February, I went to Berlin for a military wrestling tournament. That piece of the Berlin Wall means so much to me and I show it off every chance I get. In my mind, I was able to actually help "tear down" a small piece of the "oppression and tyranny" the Berlin Wall symbolized. — David Roth, Weston, W.Va.

I was working in Germany for 2 months back in November and December 1989 as an international auditor. I was based at the HQ in Munich and took a weekend trip to Berlin right when the wall was coming down. I decided I was going to bring home some pieces of the wall and give them away as Christmas presents. So I rented a huge chisel and hammer from this guy at the wall and began to chip away pieces. That was one solid wall! The pieces were not easy to chip off by at all. After considerable work I had about a dozen pieces. Now I had about 20 pounds of wall to carry back to the hotel and eventually back home to Florida in my carry-on luggage! Over the years, I must have misplaced the one or two pieces that I kept for myself, because I no longer have any.  However, I will always carry with me the memories of chipping away at that wall. — Sean Sykes, Miramar, Fla.

I was standing on the west side of the wall when a big man speaking German pushed me down. They were beginning to tear down the wall and I couldn't see much from the ground. I felt a small part of the wall about the size of a pebble hit my head and was satisfied. I went home and my husband drilled a hole in it so I could wear it as a necklace. I still wear it to this day!
— Matilda Lewis, Oklahoma City, Okla.

'Young and dumb'
It was June 27th, 1989. We all knew the wall was coming down. We didn't know it was considered theft if we just took a piece; I mean it was coming down after all! My friend told me to take a piece, so of course me being me.... I did. I just went up and broke a big chunk off. Someone yelled "Run" and that's exactly what we did. As we fell into our auto, we were all laughing so hard I'm surprised anyone was able to drive. But we managed to merge right into traffic and no one around us was the wiser. For weeks I was terrified every time someone knocked on my door. I think back on the experience and give a little giggle. Oh what fun it was to be young and dumb! — Jacki Alsobrook, Carmichael, Calif.

I got my piece of the wall during the summer of 2000. There were still many sections of the wall still standing. Enterprising young Germans were renting hammers, mallets, and other tools and you could chip away. I didn't rent anything. I simply scooped up some debris left behind by a group of young Japanese or Chinese tourists. I still have them. — William Joseph Miller, Los Angeles, Calif.

Archival video   Bush: ‘Dramatic happening’ for freedom in Germany Nov. 9, 1989: President George H.W. Bush said he was "elated" over the fall of the Berlin Wall just months after he called for free travel between the two Germanys. NBC's John Cochran reports. NBC News

I acquired my piece of the Berlin Wall from a German friend who grew up in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. Coincidentally, his father was in the Axis army and my father was in the Allied army.  However, we were neighbors for many years. He and his children helped to chip down the wall and brought back many pieces to Thailand. Amazing how people from across the world can be brought together through historic events. — Boonyuen Suksaneh, Phrae, Thailand

During the summer of 1991, I had the privilege to go to Germany as part of the Civil Air Patrol's International Air Cadet Exchange program.  There were a number of areas of wall remaining and I happened upon a relatively remote section where pieces were littering the ground, free for the taking. I ended up bringing back about 12 pounds of it, which I have kept to this day as a reminder of both the cost and the inevitability of freedom. — Anonymous, Lubbock, Texas

My boss and I were in West Berlin on business and had needed to extend our stay for that reason.  However, the hotel was booked due to the influx of media personnel. We were lucky enough to secure (and share) a room at a rooming house. The old woman who ran it gave us a piece of the wall as a gift when we left a couple of days later. That made up for the lack of hot water in the shower. — Anonymous, York, Pa.

'Lesson on history and culture'
When I was a child growing up in Maine and Utah I watched the Berlin Wall on television with fascination. I couldn't understand how it could be that a wall had been built through the center of a city. When the wall came down, I was surprised but delighted and loved watching the celebration on TV. My fascination with Berlin continued and when I finally visited Berlin in my mid-20s I brought home a bit of the wall from a souvenir shop. At 27 years of age I made Berlin my home ... my first flat was a stone's throw from where the Wall had been (by 2003 an empty field) on the former eastern side. Now I've been a "Berlinerin" for over 6 years. Our first child, who will come next year, will be a Berliner by birth. My bit of the Berlin Wall I left behind with friends in Utah ... calling Berlin home is enough for me. — Maggie McFie, Berlin

I visited Berlin back in the spring of 1993. I was stationed in Bavaria with the United States Army at the time. Being only 19 at the time I was swept away by the atmosphere of Germany, a foreign country. Yes, not only did I get a piece of the Berlin Wall but I also received a lesson on history and culture not ever given in any American schools that I attended. — Marcus Kellebrew, Monticello, Ark.

Archival video   Communist opposition overwhelmed by fall Nov. 9, 1989: New Forum was the first political movement to be recognized by Germany's Socialists after the fall of the Berlin Wall. NBC News

I bought a piece of the Berlin Wall in 1990 in the U.S. It was part of a Peterbilt Truck Company promotion to mark their 50th anniversary, 1939-1989. The small piece of rock is nicely mounted in a 9-sided lucite piece, with a black plastic base. It came with a certificate of authenticity. — Anonymous, Woodinville, Wash.

I was in Berlin a few months after the wall fell.  Capitalism was in full swing. I paid a few marks and rented a sledge hammer and chisel from a vendor.  I then got my own pieces of the wall.  Boy was that commie concrete hard!
— Don Werno, Santa Ana, Calif.

My husband brought me a piece of the Berlin Wall home from Germany when he returned recently from a deployment to Iraq. They stopped over in Germany and he wanted to get me a gift. I don't know if it is real or not, and I don't care.  My husband thought of me and it was a truly sweet gift. He is a true hero. — Anonymous, Norman, Okla.

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