Weiße Kreuze

This memorial for those who died at the wall consists of seven white crosses, each inscribed with the name of one of the wall’s victims that was shot or died trying to escape.
Nearby: Berlin Wall History Mile, Reichstag

The white crosses stand on the west bank of the Spree river, just south of the Reichstag building, overlooking the spot where several people died trying to cross the river to freedom. The simple wooden crosses were first erected by private citizens in 1971 and have been maintained and renewed by volunteers over the decades.

Among those commemorated are Günter Litfin, the first person shot at the wall in August 1961, and others who drowned attempting to swim across the Spree to West Berlin. The crosses serve as a quiet counterpoint to the busy government district that now surrounds them, visible to parliamentarians, tourists, and Berliners passing along the riverside promenade.

The memorial stands on the Berlin Wall History Mile, a series of information boards that trace the former wall route through the city centre. It is just a short walk from the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate, making it one of the most accessible and moving small memorials in Berlin.

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