Pressing Issues: Greg Mitchell's Berlin Photos 2014-2016

A collection of some of my photos taken in Berlin since 2014 and related to my book from Crown, The Tunnels: Escapes Under the Berlin Wall and the Historic Films the JFK White House Tried to Kill. You can click on any image for a large view. Contact me at: epic1934@aol.com. For background and more on book, or to order it, go here.

Portion of the Wall at Bernauer Strasse near site of "Tunnel 29" (NBC tunnel).

Replica tunnel shows how escapees climbed to freedom when they reached the West (and captured by NBC for one of the most acclaimed TV specials ever).

Former death strip along Bernauer Strasse, with poles marking path of original Wall, near site of Tunnel 29. This is just part of the haunting, and tasteful, Wall Memorial site.

East German guard tower at the Wall, from where escapees were shot, at Bernauer Strasse. Two tunnelers were killed underground in 1962, others wounded.

Daring digger for both of the book's featured tunnels, Hasso Herschel, at his sheep farm today outside Berlin.

Desk of feared Stasi chief Mielke at their headquarters. One of his informers, Siegfried Uhse, would expose several tunnels, leading to the arrests of dozens and the shooting of at least one tunneler.

Memorial for young East Berliner, Peter Fechter, shot and left--by both the East Germans and Americans--to die at the Wall in August, 1962, sparking international protests: Cobblestones at bottom mark path of Wall (as they do in much of Berlin), red circle where he fell.

Visitors at old Stasi headquarters contemplate exhibit on murder of Peter Fechter (my book is dedicated to him).

Hole in original Wall near Checkpoint Charlie.

Joachim Rudolph, key digger and technical expert, and wife Eveline, first to escape through the NBC tunnel with baby, 1962.

School kids use Wall to write or draw their reflections on paper.

The NBC tunnel, dug from the West, came out in basement of this old tenement (now renovated) at 7 Schonholzer in East Berlin.

Carts for dirt on rails at replica of a tunnel near site of"NBC Tunnel."

With original Wall behind it, this memorial at Bernauer Strasse holds photos of more than 130 who died at the Wall.

Close-up view of above.

Uli Pfeifer, key tunneler, with shard of wood support from Tunnel 29.

Statue evoking couple divided by the Wall, at the old border today.

The blocks-long Memorial site along Bernauer Strasse features dozens of monuments and information stations. Here is my photo of picture, from Stasi archives, of the hole dug by tunnelers breaking through into basement of 7 Schonholzer in the East through which 29 escaped, after crawling to the West, in September 1962.

Former death strip and inner Wall near Bernauer Strasse.

Dozens heading for "CBS tunnel" at Kiefholz Strasse were arrested here by the Stasi, thanks to informer, August 1962.

Chapel of Reconciliation marks site of former church at the Wall blown up by East Berlin officials to prevent more escapes. That's the top of steeple at lower right.

The Sophien Cemetery once bordered Bernauer Strasse but after some East Berliners used it as a path to escape, thousands of bodies were dug up and moved away from the Wall.

Many lament growth in what is called "ostalgie"--nostalgia for the old days of the Wall and a Communist East. This museum near Checkpoint Charlie immortalizes the only car most in the East could ever afford (if they were lucky), the Trabant.

In 1988, Bruce Springsteen played to his largest crowd ever after Communist leaders decided this might provide a 'safety valve' for pent-up anger among young people in the East. Instead it helped spark more calls for freedom and the Wall fell a year later. Here, almost thirty years later, Bruce performs for 50,000 in the infamous 1936 Olympic Stadium.

Checkpoint Charlie, just a tourist spot today where actors dressed up as U.S. and Communist guards pose and joke with visitors. Did not used to be such a fun spot.

This 58-year-old woman was the first to die attempting to escape at the Wall shortly after it went up in August 1961. She lived in an apartment at the border on the East and jumped out a window, to her death on the sidewalk in the West. This cross was erected at the site and now stands in the touristy, but still valuable, museum at Checkpoint Charlie.

Hartmut and Gerda Stachowitz. He served as a courier for "CBS Tunnel." She tried to escape that day in August 1962 with their infant son. They were arrested and interrogated at length by the Stasi and each went to prison.

Path of 1962 escape tunnel, marked on the former death strip, from East across (under) Bernauer Strasse to the West.

Site where East German guard, shortly after coming of the Wall, famously leaped over barbed wire to the West. This photo became one of the iconic images of the Cold War. Sadly, years later, he would commit suicide, hanging from a tree.

Acres of these sharp spikes--known in the West as "Stalin's Grass"--were placed next to the Wall or nearby buildings to discourage jumpers and other potential escapees.

One of the few long stretches of Wall remaining in Berlin is known as the East Side Galley: turned over to artists many years ago to create murals, often in a political protest mode. It's now a very pointed tourist attraction.

NBC rented apartment on top floor from where cameraman shot dramatic footage of site of Tunnel 29 across the Wall.

Another example of how Berlin marks the path of the Wall throughout the city today. This happens to be one of the most famous streets: Heidelberger Strasse, known as "The Street of Tears" because the Wall separated so many friends and neighbors. But because there was such a short distance from West to East, it also became the site of more tunnels than any other. Two of those featured in my book were started under the former pub at the right (one ended with a digger shot).

How extensive was Stasi surveillance in the East? This map at their old headquarters shows why it was more thorough than in any other society ever. This is just one neighborhood--with the yellow circles marking buildings where informers were active.

Author at the Wall, June, 2016.

Moonrise over Berlin Cathedral and River Spree.

Beyond the Wall era, Berlin, to its credit, marks the Nazi horrors almost obsessively. Its extensive museum for the Jewish Holocaust was built right in the center of the city so no one could avoid it. Each of these black slabs represent thousands of victims.