Location: German school
1 segment
A section of the Berlin Wall has stood on the grounds of the German School in Richmond, south-west of London, since 1994. This section was originally a gift from the German Federal Government to the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was established in 1991 to help shape a new era in Central and Eastern Europe following the Cold War. The section was intended to be erected in front of the EBRD’s headquarters. However, the local authorities did not grant permission for this.
The segment was therefore passed on to the German School London in Richmond. There, according to a member of staff at the school, „visitors regularly pose for photos in front of our section of the Wall, and many years ago I happened to hear a tradesman who had carried out work at our school talking on BBC Radio about the section of the Berlin Wall at the German School in Richmond.”
The plaque attached reads:
An original piece of the Berlin Wall from Bernauerstraße
Ein Originalstück der Berliner Mauer errichtet 1961
The wall came down on Nov. 9. 1989
Damit endete die Teilung Deutschlands
This eventually lead to German Reunification.
Click to enlarge:
Photo above and background:
© Deutsche Schule London
This Berlin Wall fragment was placed at the school in 1994. Initially the fragment was gifted to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the monumental events that led to the founding of the EBRD. Their task was to promote the development of Eastern Europe however the City of London would not allow the section to be placed in the Exchange Square near Liverpool Street and so it was sited in Richmond. This fragment originally was placed in Bernauer Strasse, which in 1945 was the border between the localities of Wedding (west) and Mitte (east). Initially there were houses very close to the border and people jumped from windows into the West. The DDR blocked up the windows then demolished the houses to prevent such escapes.