Segment of Berlin Wall to be unveiled at National Museum

MANILA, Philippines — A segment of the historic Berlin Wall will be unveiled at the National Museum on Wednesday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario will formally unveil the wall segment in a simple ceremony, which will be attended by Parliamentary State Secretary Madame Brigitte Zyproes of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The wall section, "Mauerteil" is 22nd of the series of 40 that were formerly located at Potsdamer Platz. It stands 3.65 meters tall and 1.2 meters wide.

The section was transferred to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the establishment of Philippine-German diplomatic relations.

Erected in 1961, the Berlin Wall divided the City of Berlin into the Communist East and the Democratic West. Its collapse in November 1989 proved to be a crucial moment in German history, paving the way for the country’s unification.

Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Germany were established in 1954. In 2014, total trade reached US$5.3 billion, making Germany the Philippines’ biggest trade partner in Europe. — Alixandra Caole Vila