Berlin Wall Graffiti
The Berlin wall was much more than just a physical barrier, it divided those in the oppressive Eastern half and its relatively-luckier western counterpart both ideologically and politically. The wall became an important symbol of citizens dissent, and a can of paint their most powerful weapon. These graffiti showcase just a glimmer of resistance in oppressive post war west Berlin. East Berliners, however, were separated from the wall by a wide swath of land known as the “death strip,” which ensured the Soviet side remained blank — a cold, unreachable grayness.
The Kiss depicts the infamous embrace, known as the Socialist Fraternal Kiss, between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German President Erich Honecker. It took place in 1979 in honour of the 30th anniversary of the German Demonstrated Republic, or East Germany. The mural was painted by Dmitri Wrubel, and under the image is a slogan reading, “My God Help me to Survive this Deadly Love.”
Mikhail Serebrjakow’s graffito on the east berlin wall entitled ‘Diagonal solution to a problem’, depicts a thumb being held up by a chain to show the forceful nature of the east German government to preserve communist ideas in the country.
East and West Berliners, even after staying in the same city and just a few feet apart from each other where still miles and miles away from the lives that were being lived on the other side of the wall. The wall may just be a barrier made with bricks and cement but it signified the huge difference between the cultures, the struggles and the completely different lives led by people on both the sides.
