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The Breitscheidplatz Christmas Market in Berlin – Memorial Scenes 2016

SIX MARKET PHOTOS – THE 2016 BERLIN ATTACK SITE and MEMORIALS

PHOTO GALLERY > BREITSCHEIDPLATZ MEMORIAL (BERLIN)

The 2016 Christmas season in Germany and Berlin was far from normal. On Monday, 19 December 2016 at 8:02 p.m. Berlin time, a dispicable act of terrorism targeted a key element of the German Christmas celebration: Christmas markets. Twelve people died, including a Polish truck driver, and 56 more were injured when a Tunisian man deliberately drove a hijacked 32-ton semi-trailer onto the square and into the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz in the heart of western Berlin, in what is known as City West.

The most significant landmark on Breitscheid Square is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Gedächtniskirche), a semi-ruin from World War II that was intentionally left standing as a warning against war. The original Protestant church was built in the 1890s. A new, smaller, octagonal church, designed by architect Egon Eiermann, was completed in 1963, along with the preservation of the damaged original church spire. A new hexagonal shaped 75-feet-high tower was also part of the project.

Breitscheidplatz in September 2016, where the Christmas market was later located in December, grouped around the old and new church structures. The street sign at right shows Budapester Straße (left) and Hardenbergstraße (right), the two streets that the attacker drove down in his attack. In this photo perspective, the truck drove from right to left, stopping near the new church (with 21,292 blue stained-glass inlays) on Budapester Straße. On the other side of the square, behind the church, is the famous Kurfürstendamm boulevard. (Click on the photo for a larger view.) PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

The so-called Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack, and released a video of Anis Amri pledging allegiance to the terror group’s leader. Hours before his attack, in the process of taking over the truck, Amri had shot and killed the Polish driver, Łukasz Robert Urban. An automatic braking system in the truck is believed to have prevented a worse catastrophe, halting the truck after it had struck several Christmas market stalls, but before it could inflict more damage. As a result, the truck only traveled a distance of about 160 feet through the market before coming to a stop.

After a brief mourning period, the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market reopened on Thursday, 21 December, with new concrete barriers installed along its perimeter. The attack site soon became a place of public mourning and commemoration for Berliners and visitors from all over the world.

Also see: Terrorism in Germany

Breitscheidplatz Photo 1

An aerial view of the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market after it reopened. The attacker drove the truck roughly along the stretch marked by the string of white lights, stopping left of the new church (blue). Budapester Straße is on the left. PHOTO: Andrea Goldmann

Breitscheidplatz Photo 2

Located by an improvised memorial, this German sign says: “This remains in our memory, but you cannot intimidate us with your terror.” PHOTO: Andrea Goldmann

Breitscheidplatz Photo 3

Candles, flowers, signs and artifacts mark a memorial to the attack victims. Attached to the cross is a photo of the Polish truck driver who was also a terror victim, along with signs in German and Polish saying: “In silent memory.” PHOTO: Andrea Goldmann

Breitscheidplatz Photo 4

Lights hang above the Christmas market stalls. In the background we see the new church (blue) and the spire of the Memorial Church behind it. PHOTO: Andrea Goldmann

Breitscheidplatz Photo 5

Another aerial view of the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market surrounding the old and new churches. PHOTO: Andrea Goldmann

Breitscheidplatz Photo 6

Another impromptu memorial on Breitscheidplatz – with a photo of the attacker’s first victim, the Polish truck driver. PHOTO: Andrea Goldmann

Our thanks to Berlin resident Andrea Goldmann for allowing us to share her photos on this page.

Also see our feature Christmas Customs in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and our Berlin City Guide.

• Read more about Christmas Customs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
• See more Berlin Christmas photos: Christmas in Germany: Berlin
• More photographs: Photo Gallery.

Next | German Way Photo Gallery

Related Pages
AT THE GERMAN WAY

• Terrorism in Germany – From Munich in 1972 to the present
• Christmas from A to Z – German Christmas traditions and terms
• Christmas Markets in Germany and Europe – An overview of the top Weihnachtsmärkte in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
• German Christmas Carols – Lyrics in German and English
• Christmas in the USA and Germany – A comparison chart
• Barbarazweig – The legend and the Christmas custom
• Epiphany and the Sternsinger – January 6 in the Germanic Christmas tradition
• Holidays and Celebrations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

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