I took this photo last summer, when I was touring Europe with my Youth Orchestra. This monument, called the Brandenburg Gate, can be found in Berlin, Germany, and it played a large, symbolic role during the Partition of Germany (as well as the subsequent tearing down of the Berlin Wall) due to widespread media coverage. However, despite it being one of Germany's most well-known landmarks, I didn't know much about it at the time (and being the tourist that I was, decided to take a picture of it anyway). Having now gained a better understanding of the context of the Cold War, I can more thoroughly relate this great piece of architecture to my knowledge of world history.
The gate was actually constructed long before the Cold War. It was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II to represent peace, and was built between 1788 and 1791. When the Nazis came to power, they used the gate as a symbol for their party, and although it was badly damaged during the war, it managed to remain standing and was eventually repaired by both East Berlin and West Berlin.
Then the Berlin Wall was built. Pretty soon, the checkpoint at the Gate was closed by East Berlin; this situation lasted all the way until December of 1989. The section of the wall here, interestingly, was built shorter and wider to protect it from possible damage if a war were to break out between the two conflicting sides. In 1989, revolutions to overthrow the communist regime resulted in the demolition of the wall, and it finally came to symbolize freedom and unity for the city of Berlin. Since then, after much refurbishment, it has come to be a source of national pride. It is the main venue for the anniversary celebrations of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and was even the location of the victory rally for the 2014 FIFA World Cup German football (a.k.a. soccer) team.
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