Giant marionettes unite in Berlin spectacle marking reunification, 20 years since wall’s fall

Giant marionettes celebrate unified Berlin

BERLIN — The first of a pair of giant marionettes has awakened in Berlin and started the search for her missing partner as part of a massive-scale street performance celebrating German reunification.

The 7.5-meter (25-foot) wooden doll hanging from a crane and clad in a bright yellow rain slicker and hat launched her search Friday with the help of dozens of handlers and puppeteers.

Her 15-meter (49-foot) partner is to emerge from an inner-city harbor Saturday. The two will make their way along separate routes through Berlin before eventually uniting.

The Royale de Luxe theater company is staging the spectacle to mark the 1990 reunification of East and West Germany following the fall of the Berlin Wall fell on Nov. 9, 1989.