The record
Two elements held by a Belgian photographer who has been going back to Berlin since 1977, and who also owns four Trabants.
Two elements are held by the photographer Lode Anseel. He first saw Berlin on a school trip in 1977 and never let the subject go; when the border opened in November 1989 he wanted to return at once, but did not manage it until the summer of 1990, in time to photograph the closing of Checkpoint Charlie on 22 June. He brought home small fragments bought from a street trader for four East German marks — the going rate, and a detail worth recording, because for a few months in 1990 the Wall was retail.
His collecting grew past the Wall into the GDR generally, and particularly into Trabants: he has four, including one in National People's Army specification, a first-generation P 50 carrying the signatures of Gorbachev, Günter Schabowski and Katarina Witt, and one covered entirely in banknotes and coins from seventy-five countries. The two full elements reached him through that world rather than through the art market: he found a Berlin Trabant enthusiast's advertisement in the magazine Supertrabi.
How did it get here?
Acquired privately through a Berlin Trabant enthusiast contacted via the magazine Supertrabi.
Sources & verification
Federal Foundation — Berlin Wall worldwide, site entry ↗
Anseel's 1977 first visit, his summer 1990 return and the closing of Checkpoint Charlie on 22 June, the fragments bought for four East German marks, the exhibitions at Menen in 1995 and Wingene in 1999, the Trabant collection, and the two elements acquired via Supertrabi.
Source accessed 2026-09-17
Federal Foundation — Berlin Wall worldwide ↗
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 104
Last verified: Not yet verified
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