European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 24, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Berlin Wall trophies need final resting place by Stephen Kinzer the new York times n ugly two Story Border Tower from which East German agents surveyed and controlled the tense checkpoint Charlie crossing a building that once stood at the very Center of world politics is now on the collector s Market. What s More it s free to the right bidder. As recently As five years ago this Tower posed the final Barrier for anyone seeking to come West through checkpoint Charlie Berlin s Best known crossing. The Berlin Wall was the Center of the division of the world and checkpoint Charlie was at the Center of the Wall said Rainer Hildebrand director of the checkpoint Charlie museum which owns the Tower. It symbolizes a  the non communist government that briefly ruled East Germany in 1990 gave the Tower to Hildebrandt s museum As a gesture of gratitude for his decades of work on behalf of East German political prisoners. Now however the museum is falling victim to the Berlin real estate Boom that has followed unification. A business Center is to be built where the historic Border Tower has stood for years. It must be moved and Hildebrandt does not have enough room to display it suitably on land around the Corner that has been allotted to his museum. I Don t want Money the 79-year old museum director and rights advocate said. I m prepared to give it away to someone who can pay the moving costs and who will work with us on a future display. The idea is to create a display that reflects the importance of this Tower in world  As if this artefact were not remarkable enough Hildebrandt is offering another treasure from his collection also without charge to someone who will move it and use it Well. It is one of the last remaining watchtowers from which East German sharpshooters monitored the death strip that separated East and West Berlin. The watchtower 90 feet High used to stand at  less than a mile from checkpoint Charlie. It was one of about 900 such watchtowers that were put up to guard East Germany s. New York times the Tower that once marked the East bloc Side of the Berlin Wall soon must be moved from its spot at the checkpoint Charlie museum. Border with the West 300 of which stood inside Berlin. They were part of one of the world s most tightly controlled Borders a Wall that East German Leader Erich Honecker predicted in 1988 would remain standing for "50 or perhaps 100  after the end of communist Rule in 1990, acting with an enthusiasm that at times seemed tinged with a desire to wipe away history German officials ordered nearly All of the Berlin Wall quickly torn Down. They also allowed the destruction of almost every watchtower. Hildebrandt was Given his at the same time he received the Border Tower. Only about a dozen others survive. There s no real interest in these items in Germany Hildebrandt said with a shrug. It s a form of repression. For some it s because they suffered too much under the old system. For others it s because they did nothing against  Hildebrandt would prefer to find someone who could take both the checkpoint Charlie Border Tower and the watchtower from Stal Schreiber Strasse for use in a single display. To sweeten the Deal he s willing to throw in a few original slabs from the Wall that he has lying around. A polish collector wants to take the two towers Hildebrandt said but apparently cannot afford the Cost of moving them which would probably run into tens of thousands of dollars. It would be a real shame if these towers end up in a garbage pile said Hagen Koch who was the East German official in charge of distributing such souvenirs in 1990. They give you a great Chance to touch history instead of just Reading about it or seeing a video. With Luck they will be saved and be kept together. Maybe some Day they la even come Back to  Hildebrandt says he Hopes that someone from the United states will take the towers Home. Checkpoint Charlie was controlled by . Soldiers and americans were involved in celebrated episodes there among them a Soldier who threw a rope to a wounded refugee and pulled him to safety. These two towers Are full of meaning for the 20th Century especially for those who suffered under the effects of the division of the world Hildebrandt said. They Are trophies. They Mark the Victory of a political  Short subject Hooker s four of Berlin More than it seems by the Baltimore Sun the prostitute in knee High boots makes a few things Clear right away to her 14 customers standing around in the cold the whole thing will last about two hours. It s of to take pictures. And Don t expect any sex. Now that will be 15 Deutsch Marks per person please. The prostitute Laura Meritt is peddling information tonight not flesh in what must be one of Europe s most unorthodox guided Tours. Part bordello history and part lobbying pitch the tour is As Good an illustration As you la find of Germany s official ambivalence toward the world s oldest profession. Prostitution is neither barred by Law nor sanctioned by the Iron network of bureaucracy although cities with fewer than 50,000 people May ban it if they choose. This leaves prostitutes owing taxes on their incomes even though they re ineligible for some of the government s most generous benefits. All they want the prostitutes say is a Little legitimacy. They also would t mind a Little National health insurance. Most people consider our Job a necessary Job and we want it considered a legitimate profession Meritt tells her audience. To get health insurance now we have to come up with fake professions. But if you Are found out you re charged with  so prostitute advocacy organizations have sprung up in Berlin and Frankfurt to fight for the cause. Meritt and another prostitute Maxi left ova do their part by running weekly Hurt ours literally whore tour Sand by tending a storefront Archive of prostitution history literature and photographs. We offer this tour not from the misery perspective that the Media usually portrays which says that prostitution is for lost and Rotten girls Meritt says. Prostitution has thrived on this Street since the 1800s, Meritt says when a customer s fee depended on How far Down a Candle burned during Intercourse. In the 1920s and Early 1930s, a Lively cabaret life swirled through the area and bordello flourished. When the Shadow of the nazis and world War ii fell on the District prostitutes were pressed into National service As an unofficial adjunct of the German army. Then came the Post world War ii division of Germany. The District was swallowed up by East Berlin and the communist government tried to act As if prostitution did t exist. But it thrived particularly at lunch hour on Oranie Burger Street Meritt says. Prostitutes offered curb service to men cruising by. Meritt sets a brisk Pace waving to policemen along the route. And they wave Back. She leads the Way with one of those official looking Batons you see tour leaders holding aloft amid the crowds at the louvre and the colosseum. Hers is a striped Battery powered Model that lights up whenever she needs to Stop traffic to the amusement of the tour group. The International committee of prostitutes rights has held several world conventions in Europe and in 1991 european prostitutes met in Frankfurt to discuss their status. In May German prostitutes rallied in the town of Kassel to demand health insurance. Monday january 24, 1994 the stars and stripes 15