Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie is the gate that the American's and Germans built in 1961 in Berlin when the wall was built. It was the main entry point for visitors coming in either direction. Last year, Alexandra Hildebrandt, director of the Checkpoint Charlie museum, leased the land from BAG bank to build a memorial of crosses on the spot near the wall, one cross for each person who died trying to get to the west from East Germany.
Apparently the bank that owns the land the memorial was on is calling for the removal of the crosses so it can sell or develop the land.
The German Social Democrats and Party of Democratic Socialism also call for the memorial to come down, although they presumably want to move it. Move it where, one wonders.
Supporters of the monument are the Christian Democrats and organizations of victims of the East German Government. That says lots right there.

Hildebrandt said a last-ditch attempt to raise the 36 million euros ($43 million) that BAG Bankaktiengesellschaft demanded for the land failed when the bank yesterday rejected her offer because it came too late.

Sounds like the evil landlords in some movie. Did they ever really intend to sell it to the supporters?
Here's some more detailed history. And I get the impression that my... uh, impression was correct. This is all political and the bank is actually doing the bidding of politicians who are embarrassed by the display.

Not surprisingly, the monument quickly became a thorn in the eye of the city government of Berlin, a political coalition consisting of Gerhard Schroeder's Social-Democrats and the PDS, the Communist successor of the SED party (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) that ruled East Germany with an iron dictatorial fist. Members of both parties in the city senate, particularly Senators Thomas Flierl (PDS) and Ingeborg Junge-Reyer (SPD), repeatedly criticized the monument, stating that the somber crosses were turning the city into a sort of Disneyland. Bankaktiengesellschaft (BAG) also heard the grumbling coming from the city government and felt obliged to terminate its lease with the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. When it did so and Ms. Hildebrandt defiantly refused to remove the monument, the bank sued to have the monument torn down and won. When, as a last resort, Ms. Hildebrandt offered to buy the land to save the monument, the bank asked for 36 million Euros, a price that, according to Henry Nickel of Republicans Abroad, is far above the actual market value and nothing more than a smokescreen created to frustrate efforts of monument proponents. The city fully backs the court order and demolition was initially scheduled to be carried out in the early morning hours of July 4th Berlin time. After widespread protest from groups representing American veterans and victims of Communism, the date was cynically moved back a day.

The Christian Democrats actually did come up with the money, but like I pointed out above, that might not have been what the bank really wanted.