Germany: Parts of Berlin Wall Removed

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/world/europe/germany-parts-of-berlin-wall-removed.html

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Work crews backed by about 250 police officers removed parts of the Berlin Wall known as the East Side Gallery before dawn on Wednesday to make way for an upscale building project, despite demands by protesters that the site be preserved. Alexander Toennies, a police spokesman, said there was no trouble as work began about 5 a.m. to remove four sections of the wall, each about 1.5 yards wide. The removal makes way for an access route to the planned high-rise luxury apartments along the nearby Spree River. The East Side Gallery is the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall. Construction workers removed a first piece earlier this month as part of a plan to make a road to a new apartment complex. The wall section stood on the eastern side of the elaborate border strip built by communist East Germany after it sealed off West Berlin in 1961.