BERLIN, June 30 (Xinhuanet) -- A controversial Berlin Wall memorial near the well-known Checkpoint Charlie museum in central Berlin is likely to be razed next month, local media said on Thursday.

    Excavators are slated to rip the massive cement stakes out of the ground on July 5, along with 1,065 wooden crosses forming a controversial memorial to those who died trying to cross the Berlin Wall, Deutsche Welle reported.

    The controversial Berlin Wall memorial, officially recognized as "artwork," was erected last year by Ukraine-born Alexandra Hildebrandt, who runs the Checkpoint Charlie museum. The Berlin Wall once marked the border between the American and Soviet sectors of the city during the Cold War era.

    Since its erection, the memorial has been at the center of a dispute between Hildebrandt, the Berlin city government, and a bank owning the land on Friedrichstrasse where the memorial stands.

    Many people have criticized the memorial as tasteless, saying it does not reflect the accuracy of history, as Hildebrandt resurrected a 140-meter strip of the Berlin Wall a few meters awayfrom its original location to complement the memorial.

    But the museum director is fighting to stop it from being ripped out, saying it is "a monument to peace and to the victims of the Berlin Wall."

    She argued that Berlin had no other place that could so authentically and effectively remember the deployment of western allies in the city.

    The land owner, a Hamm-based bank, decided after a meeting of its supervisory board on Wednesday to excavate the memorial on July 5, and then they plan to sell the land.

    Hildebrandt Tuesday announced a donor campaign to collect 32 million euros (38.68 million US dollars) to save her memorial fromdemolition. She said she wanted to use the money to buy the land herself, which she currently leases.

    She appealed to foundations and international companies for help.

    Some people stand by Hildebrandt. German carmaker DaimlerChrysler has asked the bank to at least postpone the planned excavation, while some regional politicians of the conservative opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are said to be bravely planning to oppose the excavators on July 5, Deutsche Welle said.

    Berlin's tourism bureau chief, Hans Peter Nerger, has worried that a forced demolition of the memorial might hurt Berlin's image,as thousands of tourists arrive in busloads every day to visit thesite.

    Nerger said, "when pictures of excavators mowing down the wooden crosses at the wall memorial go around the world, that's going to be very bad for Berlin." Enditem