Commemorating the 25th anniversary since the fall of the Berlin Wall on Sunday, Google celebrated the emotional day with a video Doodle. The main theme of the video is in revealing where pieces of the historical wall are now displayed around the world symbolising the breaking down of barriers.
The Berlin Wall's construction began at night on 12th August 1961 with the aim of separating the communist-controlled East Berlin from West Berlin. It was torn down on 9 November 1989, ending 30 years of division, a milestone preceding the official reunification of Germany in 1990.
The 66 mile long concrete wall was 3.6 metres high, and had over 300 soldier manned lookout towers with a further 41 miles of barbed wire fencing. Google's commemorative efforts start with footage of the joyous scenes as the Wall was pulled down in Berlin. Later it shows sections of the concrete landmark situated as monuments in other cities around the world, in the likes of London, Cape Town, Seoul, Madrid, Washington D.C. and Mountain View, California, the location of Google's headquarters.
To gather inspiration, Google's team visited a local public library near its headquarters to study an actual piece of the Berlin Wall. "This graffitied chunk of concrete, once a literal division, has been transformed into a symbol of unity, a reminder to passersby of the triumph of the collective human spirit. It was moving to see it in person and, appropriately enough, spray-painted on this special slab are the German words “Wir lieben dich” — “we love you”," Ryan Germick and Liat Ben-Rafael, Google Doodle team wrote in a blog post.
Besides sending a powerful message of peace, Google hopes to remind the world that issues with borders still exist. It hopes to weaken these boundaries by using technology and the Internet. The tearing down of the Berlin Wall signifies that freedom and equality will eventually be unleashed, and will not be held back by oppressive governments who are trying to block information from citizens.
