Where were you on September 11th 2001? What were you doing back then? Two questions that anyone can answer without thinking too long. Almost 3,000 people were killed that day when al-Qaida terrorists raced into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York in two passenger planes. Two more planes crashed into the Pentagon and over the US state of Pennsylvania. 9/11 inflicted deep wounds in New York that have not healed even 20 years later.
Immediately after the attacks, US President George W. Bush (75) proclaimed a “War on Terror”. Washington reacted, US soldiers were sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, new laws passed, and security measures for entry into the United States tightened. Every year the victims of the attacks are remembered. In New York on September 11th each year, the names of the people who were killed in the attack are read out by their relatives. With the “Tribute in Light” the night sky shines every year on the day of the disaster: Two vertically radiating columns of light simulate the towers of the destroyed World Trade Center on Ground Zero.
Ground Zero completely changed the cityscape of Manhattan. The clean-up work lasted more than nine months, eight months it smoked from rubble and rubble. Today there are several memorials on the site, such as the “National 9/11 Memorial” and the “9/11 Memorial Museum”. What is often forgotten: the memorial designed by the architect Michael Arad not only commemorates the victims of the 11th September 2001, but also commemorates the six victims of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
Six skyscrapers are said to soar into the sky
In 2006, construction began on the “Freedom Tower”, which will open as the “One World Trade Center” on November 3, 2014 after seven years of construction and a number of disputes. At 1,776 feet (542 meters) and three observation decks, it is the tallest building in the United States. The altitude is no coincidence, as the 1776 feet symbolize the year of the United States’ independence. The 329 meter high Three World Trade Center and the 298 meter high Four World Trade Center also belong to the WTC complex. A total of six skyscrapers are to be built on the site.
