Phrases like “Save our planet,” and “Some day we’ll be together” lie etched in thick black ink on the remnants of the 850-mile long Berlin Wall. Located in the heart of Berlin’s tragic history, the Wall represents the fall of communism and Germany’s bleak past. I was curious about Berlin because of my experience in Nicosia. Both cities have histories of partition and violence. While Berlin has re-unified, Nicosia is still struggling with border control and segregation.

Germany’s history has seen genocide, persecution, and partition. The collapse of the Berlin Wall shows the progress the country has made since the wall’s construction in 1961. The wall was the barrier between the Western capitalist world and the Eastern communist world. Its history starts with the Berlin separation at the end of the World War II when the Allies divided Germany into four occupied zones controlled by each of the Allied powers. As the Cold War escalated, pressure between the East and the West increased, leading to tight border restrictions and violence.

Before 1961, 2.5 million Germans escaped East Germany to go work in the West. To avoid the movement of Easterners to the other side, the East constructed the wall at midnight on Aug. 13, 1961. The wall, built from steel and concrete blocks, had 100 miles of barbed wire surrounding it. During the wall’s lifetime, over 1,000 people died from communist brutality and failed escape plans.

But in 1989, Berlin’s history changed for the better: the Berlin Wall was destroyed as Germany reunified. We visited one of four remaining pieces of the wall. While walking down the main path adjacent to the wall, I asked our tour guide about her thoughts on reunification. She said that it was a big step, but that prejudices remain. Many on the West see Easterners as lazy and lacking work ethic; those on the East see Westerners as materialistic and greedy.

As I looked over the graffiti on the Wall, I thought of the situation with Cyprus -in Nicosia, I talked to Greek Cypriots who push for reunification, but have no solution for what to do with lost lands in the North. Seeing the remnants of the wall gave me hope that Cyprus could have a similar reunification.

Right next to the remnants of the Berlin Wall was the site for the Topography of Terror: the Gestapo Headquarters. Here was where the genocide of the Jewish population began, since this was the site from which people were transported to concentration camps. It was also the site where the Secret State Police and the Reich Security set up their offices and organized their plans.

Not much was left of the headquarters. Before reaching the ruins, we passed an extensive collection of photographs of S.S. Police, journalists and others responsible for Nazi horror. The entire experience was surreal.

Berlin looked like almost any American city: modern, full of life, and filled with entertainment. But unlike most cities, Berlin’s history is one of terror and segregation. I found it difficult to grasp the horrible past until we reached the Berlin Wall. The economic progress and the new standard of living, though, show that there is still hope for struggling partitioned cities like Nicosia.