Went to the Mauerpark in Berlin this evening. I've been fascinated by the Berlin wall since sixth grade, when I read a fiction book about it called "Escape to Life!" Even though I was 12 and thousands of miles from Berlin, the wall affected me intensely. I could not imagine a walled-off city (a partial city at that). Now that I've seen it for myself, listened to stories about life in communiste East Berlin, and read the bios of people who died trying to escape to freedom in West Berlin, I'm even more deeply moved. Note the mural on the building of the no man's land the Soviets used to allow them to see -- and shoot -- people trying to escape. Also note the picture of the baby on the memorial wall in the penultimate photo. How did the baby die without another family member? That one is particularly haunting.