Similarly, the upcoming generation of American politicians will not have spent their formative years goggling at Checkpoint Charlie in divided Berlin, or feeling their spirits soar at the courage and triumph of dissidents such as Andrei Sakharov.

ECONOMIST: The pragmatic argument for American engagement

When painting the start of the stripe at Checkpoint Charlie, a former east- west border-crossing where new building has almost entirely blotted out the past, Eberhard Diepgen, Berlin's mayor, felt obliged to calm unease by declaring that there was no intention to split the city again.

ECONOMIST: Berliners see red