The record
Two Grenzmauer 75 elements chosen by the German foreign ministry and carried to Brussels by the THW, unveiled by Stoltenberg, Trump and Merkel in 2017.
Two original elements stand inside the security perimeter at NATO's headquarters on the Boulevard Léopold III, by the main visitor entrance, reachable only by registered visitors. They were unveiled on 25 May 2017, the day of the first summit held at the new headquarters, alongside a memorial made from the World Trade Center — the only time Article 5 has been invoked. Jens Stoltenberg, Donald Trump and Angela Merkel all spoke.
The pair were deliberately chosen to be unlike each other. Both are Grenzmauer 75 elements — the Stützwandelement UL 12.41, the last and most familiar design — but they did different jobs. The one nearer the path, carrying a graffito of red hands, was part of the outer border wall facing West Berlin; the paint was probably applied before the border opened and was later chipped at by Mauerspechte. Its original position is not known.
How did it get here?
A gift from the Federal Republic of Germany. The elements were selected by the Auswärtiges Amt on the advice of the Berlin Wall Foundation, which asked for pieces both authentic in their physical condition and representative of 1989 and 1990, and were transported from Berlin and erected by the Technisches Hilfswerk.
Sources & verification
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.
Source accessed 2026-09-17 · Source record 57
Source-reported segments: 2. This is not a separately verified count.
List of Berlin Wall segments — Wikipedia ↗
Two segments recorded at NATO headquarters from 2017.
Source accessed 2026-09-17
Federal Foundation — Berlin Wall worldwide, site entry ↗
The 25 May 2017 unveiling and speakers, the German federal gift, the THW transport, the Auswärtiges Amt selection advised by the Berlin Wall Foundation, the Grenzmauer 75 / UL 12.41 type, and the outer-wall origin of the red-hands element.
Source accessed 2026-09-17
Last verified: Not yet verified
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