The record
A section beside the entrance of a museum about American slavery, placed to argue that the struggle against unfreedom is one subject rather than several.
A large section stands beside the entrance to the Freedom Center, with quotations about freedom set into the surrounding pavement. The museum's subject is the Underground Railroad and American slavery, and the segment is there to place that history in the same frame as the Iron Curtain — an argument that the struggle against unfreedom is one subject rather than several. It is among the clearest cases in the catalogue of a recipient rewriting what the object means.
Cincinnati's mayor announced the gift in September 2009, and said the Freedom Center sits on the bank of the Ohio River, another barrier to freedom that eventually fell.
How did it get here?
Recorded as a gift from the city of Berlin.
Sources
Listed by the Federal Foundation as #211 and by the Berlin Wall Archive as #80.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center — Wikipedia ↗
The Berlin Wall section at the museum entrance and its framing within the museum's mission.
General referenceSource accessed 2026-09-17
Berlin Wall segment, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center — Waymarking ↗
Position beside the entrance and the freedom quotations in the pavement.
General referenceSource accessed 2026-09-17
Piece of Berlin Wall coming to Cincinnati ↗
Mayor Mark Mallory announced in September 2009 that a section of the Wall, a gift from the city of Berlin, would be permanently displayed on the southwest lawn of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
Press reportSource 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.
Inventory listingSource accessed 2026-09-17 · Source record 211
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 80
Source-reported segments: 1. This is not a separately verified count.
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