As the 20th Century's leading symbol of difference and division, the Berlin Wall had an enormous cultural and historical impact on the two former Germanies and serves as a lingering specter haunting the new walls, barriers, and fences dividing populations in the 21st Century.
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9, 1989), the UW-Madison Department of German launched a number of programs to commemorate the event.
The UW German Club, under the faculty supervision of Professor Charles James, competed for a grant from the German Embassy in Washington, DC to organize a simulation of the Berlin Wall and its demise.
On October 23, the club constructed a "Berlin Wall" from 2x4s and large cardboard sheets. Students were invited to decorate the wall with relevant graffiti before the "wall came down" at sunset.
For more information about the event, see http://germanclub.rso.wisc.edu/berlinwall.html