# The Berlin Wall separated his family. Its legacy still endures

https://mins.news/en/item/29261

- Al Jazeera, 2026-08-22 12:31 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2026/8/22/the-berlin-wall-separated-his-family-its-legacy-still-endures?traffic_source=rss

> When Germany was divided, the Guetinger family was split between opposing states. In 1969, 18-year-old Erich Guetinger needed weeks of visa processing, designated transit routes and border checks to travel from Bavaria to East Germany to see his uncle’s family. The short journey felt to him as distant as a trip to the moon and back.