BERLIN — For nearly 30 years, the Berlin Wall was the hated symbol of the division of Europe, a gray, concrete mass that snaked through neighborhoods, separating families and friends. On Wednesday, it took hundreds of police to guarantee the safe removal of 15 feet of what’s left of the wall.
Construction crews, protected by about 250 police, hauled down part of the three-quarter of a mile strip of the wall before dawn to provide access to a planned luxury apartment complex overlooking the Spree River.
Even though most of the strip remains intact, the move angered many Berliners, who believe that developers are sacrificing history for profit.
