(based on Sonja's original photos from the 1980s)
25 years ago, on the 9th of November 1989, it was probably the first time in our lives that we felt proud to be German, and this had nothing to do with our little world called Federal Republic of Germany a.k.a. Western Germany, but all with the fantastic people of the German Democratic Republic who managed to stage a revolution within a socialistic, dictatorial country without the discharge of one single gun shot.
Our generation was brought up with the Berlin Wall, a wall-like fence dividing Europe, a wall in our heads, and even a famous rock album called 'The Wall'. The GDR was foreign territory, the enemy even during the cold war. We felt guilty and responsible for the sins of our forefathers, and we didn't think we were worthy to live in a united country. Despite the lip services of our politicians that a unified Germany was their highest goal we never even remotely anticipated that this day would ever come.
But it happened! Thanks to Gorbachev's Perestroika and the emerging tendency of some Eastern block countries to open up themselves towards the West (Czechoslovakia and Hungary) there were sudden demonstrations in Leipzig and other big cities (unheard of before). People were seeking asylum in the Western German embassy in Prague, and there were even discussions about a possible political dialogue in the GDR.
The Eastern German people continued to increase the pressure peacefully: spreading their message 'Freedom', 'We are the People' and 'The Wall must come down'. All they wanted was the human right of freedom. Their persistence, combined with an extremely fortunate chain of events and a handful of people making the right decisions at crucial moments led to those unbelievable pictures that give us goosebumps up to this day. On the night of the 9th of November 1989 the first border gates were opened, with people streaming into Western Germany, and on November 10th the wall 'came down' when people started climbing it and dismantling it.
Not everything that happened afterwards was as great though. The wrong people (e.g. Helmut Kohl) adorned themselves with the effort, the unification was forced through hastily and uncoordinated, and subsequently a lot of taxpayers money was wasted by catastrophic political decisions, and oh yeah, a solidarity tax was implemented 'just for one year', yet we still got it 25 years later. And although the concrete walls came down, the walls in our heads were still there.
It was 'them' and 'us' for a long time. Because what we had learned in the first 25 years of our lives we couldn't unlearn in a few months. It were business trips mostly which sent us 'there' into the 'New States' as they were dubbed by the Westerners ('Wessies''), and in the beginning it felt like visiting a completely foreign country where people talk in funny accents. In fact it might have taken us full 25 years, a stint abroad, and oh so many fruitful conversations with Easterners ('Ossies'), that during this year's fall vacation at the Baltic Sea in Eastern Germany, we felt we had finally arrived in a unified Germany.
But in the end - despite the recent scary developments in the Ukraine - this was likely to be the most remarkable historical event that we will have experienced during our life times. We are proud and happy, deeply moved and full of respect for what our fellow countrymen in the former GDR achieved back then, and we salute them! We are the People!
Chronicles of events on the 9th of November 1989
For Before - After Slides click picture:
The Wall of Lights - klick on title below to see video.
(Thanks for the link, Martha!)
(Thanks for the link, Martha!)
Good post Roland. It must have been a glorious set of days when the wall first came down, I remember watching it in the news and remembering the times I'd looked upon it as a young officer in the US Army. I visited East Berlin, went through Checkpoint Charlie, and the difference between the two Berlins was striking!
ReplyDeleteThe transit highway to Berlin....that was a weird experience too. As military personnel in our personal vehicles, we were required to check in at a couple of points and present our travel document. There was this little ritual where one would present oneself to a Russian soldier who'd examine the papers, salutes would then be exchanged and one went onwards. I swear, the must have picked the biggest and burliest looking Russian soldiers for this duty, sort of an intimidation tactic perhaps. Up close though, their uniforms were a bit shabby. Still, interesting, to look upon the eyes of the "enemy" of those times. Ironically, I now ride Russian Sidecar Rigs!.......
DeleteHaving just visited Berlin a few weeks ago I have a bit better appreciation of what it must have been like, but as a tourist I'd never get the sense you have about the social impacts and differences between east and west. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in school we once visited West-Berlin for a week and spent a few hours in East-Berlin. It was SO different! We considered it an adventure, but we were all happy when we returned to the West that evening. That (and the transit highway to Berlin) was the one and only time I have been in the GDR.
DeleteA thoughtful post Roland, very moving. The linked 'then and now' photos succeed in conveying the enormity of the wall. I heard there is a major installation light sculpture that will evoke the wall. That will be something to see.
ReplyDeleteThere is a piece of the Berlin wall here in Montreal, a gift from the city of Berlin to the city on Montreal. When you look at it it's obvious which is the west half, and which is the east half. The west half is the one with all the colorful graffiti.
The light installation looks really beautiful on the pictures that I saw. When it comes to pieces of the wall I realized that it always seems to be the Western (graffity) half that is displayed. It is the more colorful and interesting half, and it seems to display freedom rather than dictatorship, although the whole monument is a legacy of confinement.
DeleteLeider gibt es immer noch viele Idioten (Ost und West) die meinen, dass die Mauer wieder aufgebaut werden sollte. Unverstaendlich. Ich freute mich ueber den Fall der Mauer und tue es heute noch. Danke fuer Deinen Bericht. LG aus New Brunswick.
ReplyDeleteMecki
Ich hoffe doch, dass von diesen Idioten nicht mehr so viele übrig sind... In der Tat ist es lange her, dass ich jemanden diesen Spruch habe sagen hören. Allerdings sind wir jetzt auch eine Generation weiter, und die meisten meiner jungen Kollegen (also die bis Alter 30) haben die Teilung nie bewusst erlebt. Die 'kennen' die Mauer ja gar nicht mehr und haben folglich auch keine Mauer im Kopf!
DeleteIch habe diese Aussage von deutschen in Canada gehoert. Und die sind zwischen 45 und 55 Jahre alt, also nehme ich an, dass Du Recht hast mit der juengeren Generation. Bald sollte man diese Aussage nicht mehr hoeren. ich komme uebrigens aus dem Westen Deutschland (Kreis Cuxhaven).
DeleteThanks, Martha! The 'Mauerfall' changed our self-conception from being a nation that started two world wars to being one that managed to overthrow a dictatorial government peacefully. This self-conception is one main reason why Germany hesitates so much when it comes to active participation in military actions, whether or not the reason is a good one or not.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be one of the very rare cases where the 'After' pictures look better than the 'Before' pictures!
ReplyDeleteAnd it still gives me goosebumps after all these years
ReplyDeleteAnd that was a great moment in German history
I was born in East Germany and I was two days after the fall of the Wall in Berlin
And I never thought I would ever see the case of the wall
It must have been fantastic for you to get there only two days later! I cannot even begin to imagine the feeling to pass the border!
DeleteYeah you'r right ...
DeleteOn the 9th Nov. I was working in the night shift ... almost just listen to the radio.
And then we ( all my friends ) took a train to Berlin two days later.
We all had no passport and no visa nothing.
When we got to the border we thought they arrest us or send back.
Yes, we really thought that they want do this.
If you grew up in East Germany, you have this feeling
And by the border everything was still intact.
What was missing were the guard dogs and the soldiers.
Otherwise, everything was just two days ago when the wall has fallen.
Therefore, I have a different relationship to Germany.
The fall of the wall made it possible that I could travel.
And later (20 years) I had the chance to come to Canada.
Without the case of the wall, it would not be possible
Still getting goosebumps when I read this! I remember that I felt a bit of claustrophobia when we visited West(!)-Berlin during school. This feeling of sudden freedom to travel must have been overwhelming!
Deletewe saw the Lichtgrenze Event live today and the moment the balloons went up was tremendous. I cannot even describe the feeling I had at this moment. Berlin was like crazy, I've never seen so many people in this city.
ReplyDeleteWe watched it on TV, and we loved it as well! And Beethoven's Ninth should be Germany's National Anthem!
DeleteThe before and after pictures link is just great! I think one of my uncles who grew up in East Berlin and is a photographer created a book very similar to what the link provides. I remember that I went to Berlin on Dec. 31st 1989, climbed on the wall and celebrated New Year's Eve with people from all kind of nations around me. These were unbelievable moments, still very alive today. And I still have a small piece of the wall at my parents' house in Germany. ;-) Was one of those "Mauer-Spechte". Thank you Roland, great post!
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I never climbed the wall, probably because it took me a few years to get back to Berlin (I was studying in Aachen at the time, one of the westernmost cities in Germany). Great experience visiting Berlin for New Years's Eve right after the wall came down!
Delete25 years ago we've been given the freedom to travel and to go wherever we desire to go. Words cannot describe the feelings we had in those days, we were still young but our whole world completely changed. Going from years in confinement to endless freedom was a tremendous sensation for everybody. Thank you for that brilliant post with your thoughts and thank you for being our "Wessi" friends. And I totally agree, Beethoven's Ninth should be Germany's National Anthem.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice words, Bianka! I think we are now finally at the point where it is not an 'issue' any more where someone is coming from. So many actors, musicians, politicians, but also friends who were born 'on the other side', we don't even notice any more. It took a long time, but I believe we are one people now (World Cups 2006 and 2014 did certainly help)!
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