Piece of Berlin Wall goes under the hammer in Mexican auction

Record ID: 875861

  • Title: Piece of Berlin Wall goes under the hammer in Mexican auction
  • Date: 25th May 2017
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (MAY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) SIGN ABOUT ENTRANCE AT THE MODERN HISTORY MUSEUM PLAQUE AT MUSEUM FOR PIECE OF THE BERLIN WALL IT HOLDS PIECE OF BERLIN WALL AT MUSEUM OWNER OF PIECE OF BERLIN WALL, LUIS ALONSO (CENTRE) AND COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR OF MORTONS AUCTION HOUSE, VIVIAN GORINSTEIN (RIGHT), SPEAKING TO WOMAN PAN OF PIECE OF BERLIN WALL FROM UP TO DOWN MAN TAKING PHOTO OF PIECE OF WALL DETAIL OF PAINTING ON PIECE OF WALL DETAIL OF GRAFFITI ON WALL ALSONSO EXPLAINING DETAILS ON WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OWNER OF PIECE OF BERLIN WALL, LUIS ALONSO, SAYING: "(Let) this historic piece that is three tonnes, 3.5 metres high (approximately 16 feet high) be preserved. In the future there will be a lot of youth that will appreciate it, in a school, in a factory, in a public space, wherever. Let the piece continue to have an effect on people on the planet, as historic pieces (should be)." ROUGH EDGE OF PIECE OF WALL THAT WAS CHIPPED AWAY GENERAL VIEW OF WALL HOLE IN WALL ALONSO POSING WITH GORINSTEIN IN FRONT OF WALL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR OF MORTONS AUCTION HOUSE, VIVIAN GORINSTEIN, SAYING: "The piece comes with documentation of origin from when it was acquired in 1990. The truth is that its state of preservation is the same as that when it was acquired when the wall fell." ALONSO POSING BY WALL FOR MEDIA STATUE OF VLADIMIR LENIN AT MUSEUM (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OWNER OF PIECE OF BERLIN WALL, LUIS ALONSO, SAYING: "The wall that Mr. Trump is trying to get up was inspired by parts of the wall that already exists. Other US presidents have put up many kilometres of wall that are there. They have not continued because the border is immense, more than 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles). Hopefully this will not happen because it is useless, the wall will not work for anything." ALONSO TALKING ABOUT HIS PIECE OF WALL HOLE IN WALL BUST OF LENIN ENTRANCE TO MUSEUM
  • Embargoed: 9th June 2017 00:18
  • Keywords: auction Germany border wall Mexico President Donald Trump hammer Berlin Wall
  • Location: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • City: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Human Interest / Brights / Odd News
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016IC8IMB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A piece of the Berlin Wall will go under the hammer in Mexico City, amidst popular opposition in the Latin American country to a proposal by US President Donald Trump to build a "great wall" along the border between the two nations.
    Built in 1961, the Berlin Wall was erected to stop East Germans fleeing to the West. It began as a barbed wire and cinder block wall and was then fortified as a heavily guarded 160 km (100-mile) white concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin. The wall eventually came in 1990 after the fall of Communist regimes across Europe.
    Pieces of the wall have been shipped to different countries as a symbol of the need to build bridges across people and regions.
    Mexico City's piece of the wall is housed by the Museum of Modern History and features an original painted design on the wall as well as graffiti put up by Germans critical of the divide.
    The owner of the piece of the Berlin Wall, Luis Alonso hopes that its new owner will continue to preserve the memory of this piece of history for future generations.
    Mortons auction house is managing the sale in Mexico City, with the item coming with proof of authenticity.
    The timing of the auction comes amidst particular political timing in global politics. Former US president Barack Obama chastised the idea of hiding behind walls during a visit to Berlin on Thursday (May 25).
    And Trump has grated Mexicans by claiming that the Latin American country will be charged for the building of his "great wall", that is expected to top of $20 billion.
    Mexico's piece of the Berlin Wall goes under the hammer this Saturday (May 27).
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