When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 it marked the end of East Germany. People immediately began chiseling away at the barrier — the so-called “Mauerspechte” or wall woodpeckers. By June 1990 most of the structure had been cleared with bulldozers, leaving only a few preserved stretches such as at the official Berlin Wall Memorial and the East Side Gallery.
Despite that, fragments of the Wall continue to appear across the city. Museums like the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, souvenir shops and even hotels offer thousands of pieces for sale. Nearly 40 years after the fall, painted concrete chunks have become common as fridge magnets, postcards and other keepsakes — raising the question of whether all of them are genuine or if some are modern fakes.
“There definitely are fake bits of wall that are made of plaster,” says Julian Sacha. Most pieces on sale, however, are authentic. Sacha and his brother Sebastian run Urban Products Sacha Ltd. in Reinickendorf; the business dates back to 1992 when Sebastian’s father-in-law acquired a large number of fragments and began breaking them down for sale.
Urban Products supplies major souvenir chains in Berlin and ships items worldwide, with many sales to the US, UK and China. Their pieces have also been included in a touring exhibition, “The Berlin Wall. A World Divided.” The company openly states that many fragments are spray-painted after removal to enhance their appearance. Prices start at €9.90 and include a certificate of authenticity; even the German parliament has bought from them.
Business continues: Sacha says they have around 40 to 45 sections in storage — about 30 whole and 10 to 15 already broken up for sale. Original Wall slabs were roughly 3.6 meters high and 1.2 meters wide, and over the years many sections were shipped around the world, though the locations of some remain unknown.
Demand has tapered in recent years, so Urban Products has begun shifting focus toward other Berlin souvenirs such as vintage tin signs and key rings. Still, while there are plaster imitations, many of the concrete keepsakes sold today are genuine remnants of the Wall.
This article was translated from German.
