64
MACHT FRE
THE SOUND OF NO BOOTS MARCHING
or SKATEBOARD MACH FREI
He's popping a pimple on the back of his leg when
the East German customs official opens the door to the
cabin. "Take your feet off of the seat," he says in broken
English.
"I was poppin' zits."
The officer doesn't understand, so Weenie shows him
what he means. Unimpressed, the officer demands
passports. Of course, everything is in order.
Emerging from the train station, Weenie and Eric are
immediately singled out by a bum for panhandling pur-
poses. Weenie produces a cheese sandwich from his
coat pocket, a leftover from the snacks he'd purchased
on the long ride into town. Mr. Panhandler is stunned,
but manages to utter several "danke's".
The Berlin connection is made with a single phone
call and a quick tour of the city is arranged with their
friend Christian Wasdarls. It is 2 a.m. West
Berliner time.
The first stop is a Berlin wall observation
platform at the end of Niederkirchener
Strasse. The street was named after a
female partisan killed by the Nazis before
the war.
They peer over the wall at the occasional
machine-gun-toting East German patrols.
Guard towers dot the landscape in each
direction.
After the DDR's (Deutschland Democratic Republic)
establishment in 1949, millions of its occupants fled over
its borders to the west. As each phase of Sovietization
took root, the composition of the refugees began to vary
considerably: workers, farmers, craftsmen, students,
teachers and lawyers were fleeing, sometimes in
masses. Since 1958, the escape of specialists and
members of the technical intelligentsia began increas-
ing steadily. So, finally, on the nights of August 13 and
14, 1961, in order to prevent an economic disaster, the
powers that be in the DDR hermetically isolated the East
Berlin population from West Berlin with a levy of 50,000
armed men. The DDR declared that the "Peace-
protection-dam had been erected against the militarists
and imperialists" because they "first wanted to reach
the Oder, in order to start the big war." Of course, they
neglected to mention the refugee movement, the real
reason for building the wall.
In stages, the human wall was replaced with stone,
then concrete and barbed wire. By its
fifth year, the wall was already 25
kilometers long. They used enough
materials in its fortifications to build a
small town, and enough barbed wire to
encircle the Earth.
The next day, Eric, Weenie and
Wasdaris plan to visit a public skate-
park. Unfortunately, before they
get halfway across town, the
skies open and release
a thunderstorm. ►
VISTOR
Top to Bottom: Anonymous frontside
coping attack. Ber-lian air, same
skater. A locked-on and laid back
Christian Wasdaris
Spread: A session rages
on even as light fades
from the Berlin sky.
Right: Eric and posse