The east side gallery was an incredibly powerful expedition for me. I initially thought it would just be about the oppression that took place during the DDR, but it provided me with something much more powerful. When walking along the Berlin wall, I saw art that focused not just on socialist oppression but oppression in every facet of life. The art on this wall was put there to show the world that it wasn’t just Germany who was preventing people from being free it was everyone including the United States. These artists understood that the wall had bigger implication than just Germany. They knew they needed to push the envelope on the main issues. Issue such as cultural acceptance racism and gay rights; all the issues that continually marginalize our society. I began to see through this wall that without acceptance and understanding we will never stop oppressing people in our community. True freedom is allowing people around you to express every aspect of themselves without fear. Not only people around you but allowing yourself to be expressive without fear of being judged. We must express ourselves in every single way, or we are not living a true life. If we are not living a genuine and honest life are we living a life at all? I believe that is what the art is trying to say. It does indeed fight for the end of socialism and its oppressive nature, but these artists are more importantly trying to put a stop to the oppressive nature within each and every person, not just in Germany.
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