Der Eintrag
Eines von zwei Segmenten, die IBM 1992 vor ihren Büros am Karl-Arnold-Platz aufstellte; 2023 stand es verhüllt auf der Baustelle des ehemaligen IBM-Geländes, von einer Fußgängerbrücke kaum zu sehen.
Die ausführliche Geschichte, die Herkunft und die Quellenangaben dieses Eintrags liegen bislang nur auf Englisch vor.
The Düsseldorf news site VierNull went looking for the piece in May 2023 and found it on the building site of the former IBM grounds between the Kennedydamm and the Karl-Arnold-Platz in Golzheim: a lump of concrete sprayed with red graffiti and a pair of wide eyes, with a plaque at its foot reading "Denkmal", at 51°14'46.1"N 6°46'17.2"E, about 250 metres north of where the Kennedydamm meets the Kaiserswerther Straße. The writer had first come across it in spring 2021, when the site was not yet fenced; by 2023 it could just be made out from the footbridge over the Kennedydamm at the end of the Hans-Böckler-Straße, and had lately been wrapped for protection, which the site reads as a sign that it is to be shown properly again.
The city archive supplied the origin: the Westdeutsche Zeitung of 1 December 1992 printed a photograph of two segments of the Berlin Wall that IBM had set up the day before in front of its Düsseldorf branch on the Karl-Arnold-Platz, the company and its then manager Hans-Olaf Henkel wanting to recall the fall of the Wall and the end of Germany's division and to express a bond with Berlin.
The Wall Net, a general reference, says Henkel, who ran IBM Germany at the time of the fall of the Wall, had a segment set up at the Stuttgart and Düsseldorf sites and keeps another at his country house in France, and that the Düsseldorf pieces were "reportedly dismantled". VierNull found one of the two still there; what became of the other is not said.
Wie kam es hierher?
Set up by IBM Deutschland on 30 November 1992 in front of its branch on the Karl-Arnold-Platz on Hans-Olaf Henkel's initiative; left on the site after IBM's departure.
Quellen
Gelistet vom Berlin Wall Archive als #107.
Warum ein Stück Berliner Mauer auf einer Baustelle in Düsseldorf steht — VierNull, 15 May 2023 ↗
A piece of the Berlin Wall with red graffiti and a "Denkmal" plaque on the building site of the former IBM grounds between Kennedydamm and Karl-Arnold-Platz in Golzheim, at 51°14'46.125"N 6°46'17.244"E, barely visible from the footbridge over the Kennedydamm, lately wrapped for protection; the Westdeutsche Zeitung of 1 December 1992 reported IBM setting up two segments the day before in front of its branch on the Karl-Arnold-Platz, IBM and Hans-Olaf Henkel recalling the fall of the Wall and the end of division. These facts are in the freely readable part of the article; the rest is behind a paywall.
PresseberichtQuelle abgerufen am 2026-09-17
Düsseldorf, NW – IBM Zentrale — The Wall Net ↗
On Hans-Olaf Henkel's initiative a segment was set up in front of IBM's Stuttgart and Düsseldorf sites and another stands at his country house in France; the Stuttgart campus was given up in 2009 and the Düsseldorf segments were reportedly dismantled; photograph by courtesy of Thierry Noir.
Allgemeine ReferenzQuelle abgerufen am 2026-09-17
Berlin Wall Archive ↗
The source lists this place as a Berlin Wall location. Coordinates, where supplied, are source-reported and may represent a general area. This is not independent verification of authenticity, current presence, or public access.
VerzeichniseintragQuelle abgerufen am 2026-09-17 · Quelleneintrag 107
Von der Quelle gemeldete Segmente: 1. Diese Zahl wurde nicht gesondert geprüft.
Von diesem Stück ist noch kein Foto veröffentlicht. Wenn Sie eines aufgenommen haben oder wissen, wann es ankam oder wer es gab, hören wir gern von Ihnen. Zu diesem Eintrag beitragen (Englisch)