An exhibition of photos charting the evolving landscape of East and West Germany was held in the Parliament, which coincided with MEP Michael Cramer's promotion of a cycle route along the Iron Curtain. Mr Cramer argues that a trip down memory lane is impo

Reporter: Iron Curtain cycle route and remembering the Berlin Wall

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/14512603/M003-0031-EN.srt

shows the changes along the borders   between East and West Germany.

German MEP Cramer took the   occasion to promote a project

of a cycle lane crossing Europe   along the former Iron Curtain.

It was once a minefield.   Today it has become a football pitch.

'The Border' exhibition shows the change   in the former internal German borders.

It was opened at the beginning   of November by EP President Buzek

and MEP Michael Cramer,   promoter of the initiative.

before and after the Fall   of the Wall and the Reunification.

It's about the fight for human rights,   a picture is worth a thousand words,

and I wanted to portray the injustice   which the Wall symbolised.

as well as the whole length   of the inner German border,

On several walking trips, I ended up   taking more than 40,000 photographs.

The aim of the exhibition is that people   don't forget, especially young people.

Spanning his 30 year career   a book was published

For this historic work, Ritter received the   Reunification Prize 2007 from Germany.

His photos show   the division and the violence

This cross is for a pregnant   18 years old girl

who was shot while trying   to climb the Wall.

Ritter witnessed the event:   he rushed to Berlin on November 10th,

the day after the Wall fell down.   This picture was shot around 10pm.

and at first I thought   they wanted to burn the Wall.

a huge sound system was being set up   near the Brandenburg Gate,

and they needed petrol   for the generator.

Once they got some, they started   playing this great music near the Wall.

There is a famous German song   called 'Marble Breaks And Iron Bends'.

They played it   ten or twenty times in a row,

because the song is about love   being able to break through walls.

German Green MEP Cramer   recalls those days too.

and the night the Wall fell   he had a meeting on transport.

He was astonished when a neighbour   told him.

For almost 50 years the Iron Curtain   has divided East and West Europe.

Today MEP Cramer launched a cycle   lane project along that path -

He explains   where the idea came from.

It will take at least 15 years   to complete the project,

4 years ago the EP described the cycle   lane along the Iron Curtain trail

as a project that will bring tourism and   economic development to poorer regions.