I was there 20 years ago and witnessed the wonderful changes! We flew to Berlin days after we saw the opening of the Wall on TV. I'll never forget watching people crossing and dancing on the Wall; but even more I'll never forget the people we met at the Wall and marching with 100,000 East Germans in Liepzig demanding freedom. We met an East German youth who had just been released from prison for having tried to escape six months ago. Wow! you can't imagine how happy he was! We talked to many East Germans there, saw E.G. border guards smiling and posing for photos with children--relieved they didn't have to kill their fellow conuntrymen any more. One border guard showed us through a hole in the Wall his prize possession: a Beatles cassette tape he had bought when he had crossed into the West! East German kids incstincively knew what to do: break off pieces of the Wall and sell them to western tourists for real money! One day we drove to Leipzig, south of Berlin, where there was a massive demonstration for democracy, and we joined in and marched with 100,000 East Germans; marching through the city to the Stazi secret police headquarters. Police stood in side streets in case orders came to fire on the crowd and reinstate the dictatorship--thankfully that never happened. As a way to assist our German friends, we helped tear down the Berlin Wall! We knocked down 1,000 pounds (500 kilos) of the Wall and took it back to the States to sell! Read the expedition journal, see the photos, and buy a piece for yourself at http://www.berlin-wall.net

The Berlin wall is history. Israel's 'Security Wall', that also collectively punishes a whole society isn't. http://www.stopthewall.org/