For 49 years, Berlin, former capital of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, was occupied by the victorious allies of World War II--the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. For much of that time an ugly wall divided the city . . . — — Map (db m136630) WM
Berlin Wall Segment A.
This Berlin Wall Segment, located between the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie from 1961 - 1989, is donated in gratitude to all Military Chaplains, who in time of war and peace, faithfully served God and . . . — — Map (db m136418) WM
Panel A.
On November 9, 1989, to stem the flow of refugees, desperate Communist leaders announced amid chaos that they would issue passports to all East Germans, allowing them to come and go as they pleased. That evening hundreds of . . . — — Map (db m136631) HM
Because of the Four-Power Agreements, the Allies had insisted upon free access to Berlin at any time. In 1958, Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev of the Soviet Union demanded that the Allies leave West Berlin and Berlin be made a "demilitarized free . . . — — Map (db m136629) HM
Early on August 13, 1961, the East German Army, with Soviet support, began constructing a barrier of barbed wire, cinder blocks and mortar between East and West Berlin. The barrier was intended to stop the exodus of citizens fleeing from . . . — — Map (db m136408) WM
A one time member of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, Madison came to Dakota Territory in 1886 and the history of South Dakota Rodeo began. Russ won the Champion Relay Race in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1907 and then began building his bucking horse . . . — — Map (db m113149) HM
Tank Trap A.
This tank trap, located between the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie from 1961 - 1989, is donated in honor of the citizens of Potsdam, Germany (the sister city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota), where religious freedom was . . . — — Map (db m136417) WM
The United States never wavered in its commitment to freedom and democracy in Berlin, a city isolated 100 miles inside Easts Germany. In 1948, to assert its influence over Germany, the Soviet Union blockaded land access to Berlin. The Western . . . — — Map (db m136414) WM
Given to Rapid City by Generous Citizens Mindful of the Price of Freedom
COMMITTEE
Gale Holbrook
Ra Vae Luckhart
Jim Kuehn
Phil Nichols
Carolyn Mollers
Paul Reinke, DDS
Col. Josiah Wallace
Dale Clement, PhD . . . — — Map (db m136399) WM
Sometimes East German border guards themselves took advantage of lapses of attention to escape the watch of their colleagues, as Conrad Schumann did by leaping over the barbed wire and fleeing to the West. Most often, however, people attempting . . . — — Map (db m136412) WM
Original Construction
The Madison cabin was built in 1876 with logs from the abundant groves of cottonwoods along Rapid Creek. After the trees were felled and trimmed, the logs were squared on the ground (typically with a broadaxe) . . . — — Map (db m154847) HM
This cabin, dating to Rapid City's is founding in early 1876, is the oldest known structure in the city and one of the oldest standing structures in the Black Hills. Rufus "Pap" Madison built it at the corner of Fifth and Rapid Street, the center of . . . — — Map (db m154909) HM
Here, in America's Heartland between Mount Rushmore national Memorial and Ellsworth Air Force Base, remnants of the Berlin Wall are a vivid remainder that vigilance must never give way to complacency where freedom is concerned.
The . . . — — Map (db m136400) HM