The record
A segment the village's Bundeswehr partner battery gave in 1991 as a token of its partnership with Bestensee, now in front of the school and municipal library with a stele added in 2016.
A report to Havixbeck's committee for youth, social affairs, schools and sport on 12 April 2016 describes the welcome for exchange students from Glen Lake Community Schools in Michigan, the school's partner since 1999: in front of the building of the school and municipal library, where a section of the former Berlin Wall stands, the history course of the sixth form unveiled a small stele that explains the Wall and the events of 1961, with a sentence of John F. Kennedy's from that year chosen by the pupils, "Eine Mauer ist verdammt noch mal besser als ein Krieg".
The Wall Net, a general reference, has the earlier history: the council had thought of a partnership with a community in the other Germany even before November 1989, and through the association of towns and municipalities found Bestensee in Brandenburg. As a sign of that bond a segment has stood in Havixbeck since 1991, for years beside the fire station and later at the edge of the new school site; it was a gift of the village's Bundeswehr partner unit, the 3rd Battery of Panzerartilleriebataillon 195 at Handorf, units of which helped dismantle the border works after reunification. The quotation on the stele comes from a letter from Kennedy to Willy Brandt, and the spot was formally inaugurated in March 2016 during the American students' visit.
How did it get here?
Given in 1991 by the 3rd Battery of Panzerartilleriebataillon 195, Handorf, the village's partner unit, by The Wall Net's account; first beside the fire station, later moved to the school; stele added in 2016.
Sources
Listed by the Berlin Wall Archive as #167.
USA-Austausch — Ausschuss für Jugend, Soziales, Schule und Sport, Gemeinde Havixbeck, 12 April 2016 ↗
The committee report: at the welcome for exchange students from Glen Lake Community Schools, partner since 1999, the history course of the sixth form unveiled a small stele in front of the school and municipal library building, where a section of the former Berlin Wall stands, explaining the Wall and 1961 and quoting Kennedy's "Eine Mauer ist verdammt noch mal besser als ein Krieg".
Institutional sourceSource accessed 2026-09-17
Havixbeck, NW — The Wall Net ↗
A segment in front of the Anne-Frank-Gesamtschule: the council's idea of a partnership with a community in the other Germany before November 1989, the partnership with Bestensee; a segment standing in Havixbeck since 1991, for years beside the fire station and later moved to the edge of the new school site; a gift of the 3rd Battery of Panzerartilleriebataillon 195 from Handorf; the Kennedy quotation on the stele from a 1961 letter to Willy Brandt, chosen by a history course; officially inaugurated in March 2016 during a visit of exchange students from the USA.
General referenceSource accessed 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.
Inventory listingSource accessed 2026-09-17 · Source record 167
Source-reported segments: 1. This is not a separately verified count.
No photograph of this one has been published. If you have taken one, or know when it arrived or who gave it, we would like to hear. Contribute to this record