The day the wall came down in Berlin was a day that I will never forget. My brother was in Germany for the historic event and as the wall starting being torn apart piece by piece he was on the phone with me. This was before youtube, before Iphones and Ipods, before the typical cell phones we have today. But he had access to a phone near the wall and I was able to be there in spirit and an earshot to this event.
Why would this event be so important to us? Memories flood my mind as I think back to this day and to the four years that we lived in Germany right near the border of East and West Berlin. The wall was a big part of our lives for those four years.
How many times we had walked along that wall- the wall between whether you could worship God or not, the wall between whether you could make money or not, the wall between whether you could voice your opinion or not. We were on the freedom side of that wall.
Just a few steps divided two very different worlds. I remember peering through the barbed wire sections especially near the guarded gates on occasion. My eyes were met with such contrast of seeing buildings and structures completely neglected, ugly and depressing and then turning around on our side of the wall to notice the wonderful German architecture with obvious care and attention to cleanliness. As a child things appear much bigger but also more obvious. This contrast affected me emotionally and the work my father was there to do became quite meaningful.
We went to German schools, spoke German in our home and socialized with Germans. Being integrated into German society was a part of my father's assignment in Germany as Naval Intelligence was a big part of encouraging the people of East Berlin to fight for their freedom. All of this helped to form my conservatism and love of our United States constitution.
As you witness what people will do to get just the chance of freedom; it is something you never forget. We saw on the news nearly every night people jumping the wall, ramming the wall, sneaking through in suitcases- knowing full well that they would be shot if they were caught trying to get to the west yet fully willing to take that risk. Being shot and killed for trying to escape the bonds of communism was better than living in the bondage and depressed state. Of course for a young girl to know this, to feel this and to witness this- one can not come away from this experience without having it mold a part of who you are.
My father had a dangerous assignment of smuggling intelligence and smuggling people over, around and through the wall. We were even able to meet some of these men who would hide in the smallest of compartments like only Houdini could do in order to cross the border. Without a full understanding of the nature of his business somehow I felt that he was doing a great duty to expand the love of freedom and help do his part to eventually bring down that wall. My experiences and recollections could fill a book.
So as my brother was giving me the step by step on the wall coming down he promised to bring me back a piece of that wall and he did. I have pieces of the Berlin wall that I treasure. I treasure these broken pieces of the wall because they symbolize that freedom can prevail. They symbolize the blood freely spent in order to bring many to taste the sweet savor of freedom. They remind me never to forget the sacrifices of many military and civilians who helped to break through the barrier and then to tear down the wall. They speak to me saying: never forget and never let it be in vain.
President Reagan did so much to help bring down the iron curtain and the Berlin wall. Below is his world famous speech to Russia's Gorbachev; Tear Down That Wall! Many of you were too young to remember or to young to care but this was one of the most important historic moments in history. Please take the time to watch and listen. This is important to understand the past so that we may have the strength and the fortitude to stand by those being oppressed, to make it possible for those oppressed to know that one day they too, can taste freedom and to never allow tyranny to come to visit us or those we care about. To feel what the people felt, to get a glimpse of what happens when the people have had enough, watch the video below President Reagan's speech. The video is 9 minutes long but very powerful about what happens when hundreds of thousands of people demand freedom.
Let us all remember the day the wall came tumbling down!
67 Comments on Tear Down That Wall- A Day Imprinted In My Mind Forever
NOV
10
2009
Katerina - I remember that I was a sophomore in college when this happened - it was one of the few news events that made an impact on my young mind back then.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was so happy about it and I actually cried. :) I think you should write a book because it's history and personal and people like that :)
I was just thinking about the piece of the Berlin Wall that I had when I was doing a work study program in London back in 1990 when I was in college. I had a piece that had pink spraypaint on it, from grafitti on the wall. I've moved a lot since then and don't know where I lost it. It is pretty amazing when you think about it.
Katerina - What I remember too are the stories of young people clinging to the under carriages of cars just to get out - and what happened if they were caught. Thank you for reminding all of us about what we cannot take for granted.
Katerina, I was eating in some pizza joint at a business lunch 20 years ago as that wall came down and I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. Reagan's words were very powerful prior to that moment.
Katerina ~ I was living in Hamburg at the time and remember the day well. Married to a German and with two sons born there I was very integrated in German life. It was all very wonderful and also very surreal, because it was such a strange set of events that led us to that day.
It was indeed a life-changing event. Before that day we got regular updates on the news of victims shot trying to get to the West...After that day I had many East German neighbors who I came to appreciate for their down to earth, no-nonsense attitude to life.
To bring some levity into this discussion, I recently asked my sons what they remember about that day. My eldest son who was 8 years old at the time remembers David Hasselhoff's song "Looking for Freedom..." That definitely made me smile!:-)
I remember those times. Reagan was instrumental in bringing about the change. I am disappointed at how little mention he seems to be getting in the regular media.
Thanks so much for reviving the memories so vividly for me.
Funny! Gorbachev was just on TV saying America needs to undergo its own perestroika. Having served under Commander and Chief Reagan I will say he pushed us very close to a nuclear war with the Soviets. Fortunately, they blinked.
I praise the Beatles for bringing the east and west closer together than any political leader. Their songs showed the world that we have more in common than those in religion or politics ever wanted us to know.
Katerina, As a teenager I was able to visit Germany with my parents. We were able to visit East Berlin and I remember feeling so sad there. I remember the looks on the faces of the people, so different then in West Berlin. I was glad to leave there but I will always have the memories.
I watched on TV as that wall came down and will remember it always. It had such a huge impact on me.
I was a duck-and-cover kid growing up. My Father was captain of a nuclear sub (FBM) and subsequently a squadron. I share your vigor that we won the cold war. I have the highest respect for you and your family. Cheers. This message is loud and clear and should be touted.
First, I want to thank you for this post and all of the great comments that came before me. I'm going to go ahead and re-blog.
I too remember the day - I had already done my 10 years in the US Army - 6 or then in Europe - 3 of those were in the nuclear weapons program and the other 3 in an armor battalion that spent much of its time on the east-west border. I only visited Berlin once, freaky kind of place. Then it was a city that never slept.
Of course the military was not very popular in those days - less so than REALTORS are today - but we did our duty.
I don't even want to compare myself to the young men and women who serve/served in the middle east or those who went to Viet Nam, while I got to spend my time in Europe eating schnitzel and drinking some pretty good beer (OK, great beer).
It was a very stressful time though. Terrorism exited, just not the same bred as today. Certainly we remember aircraft hi-jack after hi-jack. Got to seem routine. What about the Olympics in 72 - another event I missed by just a couple of years (My time in Europe was 74-80).
Yet, despite the lack of popularity or bullets flying we were verry definately at war - it was the Cold War and no, it wasn't all James Bond, either.
Enough said, although I carry the classification with the DoD as a "Viet Nam Ware Era Veteran' having never been past Catalina Island in the Pacific (Is it wast or west at this point) I do not think of my service in those terms but prefer to label my self a Cold War Warrior.
Hi Katerina -- Great post. There are many viewpoints on whether we won the cold war or the Russians lost the cold war, a distinction that is not trivial and will be debated for generations to come by historians, economists, political figures and lay people -- I will leave that debate to those far more in the know than I.
I do remember watching the wall fall and it was quite a memorable and humbling day. Earlier in that decade I was in the Navy as well as Naval Intelligence, and those were tumultuous times for those of us on the inside even though the outside appeared rather calm.
I remember this as a kid. Boy I miss Reagan. There are still so many "walls" that still need to be torn down in many countries where they still don't have the freedoms we enjoy. We are so blessed to live in the USA, although it is quickly becoming a country I'm sad to stay my children will not enjoy or see the way I have in my short 32 years.
Jason- I am glad that this even impacted you as a college student. At a very young age I learned a lot about the Soviets as my family escaped communism with just the clothes on their backs and what they could carry with them. It was and is real.
Jackie- Thank you. I was just reading some of Ms Edwidge Danticat's novels based on her Haiti experience and coming to this country and felt called to tell our story. I have a lot of history to tell from my mother's family escaping from Stalin when he went on his killing rampage through Latvia.
Michael- I knew those stories first hand. I was with my parents when they met these folks that would escape. We were almost shot one day by going getting too close to the line in a lake while we were boating. Very scary!
I remember it like it was yesterday, because I was listening to a song by the group Berlin, and I enjoyed the irony. I believe the song was "No More Words." I like the irony there, too! =)
Aaron- Watching the videos today remembering those moments as the wall came down, you are right, no more words, just marching in action and the best part was the soldiers and guards who no longer would obey their orders to hold the people back.
Katerina, thank you for sharing your memories. It's hard to believe it's been 20 years, the memories are still so vivid as if it was just yesterday.
The wall was built the year I was born and I visited Berlin many times before and after the wall fell. The difference is like day and night, light and darkness.
I remember walking along the wall as the East German guards watched every movement and how careful we had to be not to get too close. And I remember the exhiliration when it came down, I could hardly believe my eyes when I went back to Berlin a month or so later and saw that there were holes in the wall that was to stand forever.
Gary- Yes, those were powerful words and I heard those words as he spoke them because the events leading up to this were very endearing to us and our family.
Thank you for your post. When I was little I used to pray that the wall would come down. I am fearful of how big our government is getting and that the elected officials seem to be leaning to far left.
Katerina - What a wonderful and passionate story. I remember watching President Reagan make that speech and what an impact it had on me. It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since the Berline Wall came down. We don't realize how lucky we are to have freedom and liberty when you look back at the sacrifices made by so many to have the same.
Silvia- Thank you for reblogging this post too! I remember how scary it was to get too close to that wall. I remember a lot about living in Berlin right close to that wall. Off the subject: I was also run over by a car on the street we lived on, still remember the name of the street. I was blessed to live through that as the cars tires ran over my little 5 yr old body. Katerina
Denise- Thank you for your comments and sharing your experience. Those of us who were close to the situation whether by serving in the military or living among the Germans, it will always be a memory of an amazing event that changed the world and freed many people.
Laurie- President Reagan will go down in the real history books that dare to speak the truth as one of the greatest presidents ever to serve. He was my favorite President as he was instrumental in my mother country, Latvia to gain her independence. For that, we will forever be grateful to him.
It is hard to believe it has been 20 years already. I was based in West Germany in the late 1970's for 2 years as part of the Royal Air Force. In those days our life and training were based on going to war with the Soviet Union, back then we could never imgine the wall coming down. Just goes to show anything is possible in this world.
I'm with Jackie.... With your gift of writing and the wonderful life stories you possess, you SHOULD write a book!! I very much enjoyed this post. I am saddened by the way our current government is fighting to take control of SO many sectors of our society! Of course the silver lining is I am appreciating my freedom like never before...realizing things can turn on a dime.
Katerina, What a wonderful story of your life, that you chose to share here. A great personal insight into world history, and also your history! Thank you for sharing.
Katerina, I am glad that Silvia re-blogged this because I missed it before.
You might also want to read my post on the wall:
Memories of the Berlin Wall - I Was Held at Gun Point!
I have many memories of the wall -- one was good, it was joining with friends and singing Christmas carols to the East German guards from across the wall. I am also going to re-blog your post, I hope that even more people will get to see it.
This day will stay imprinted forever in our memoeries as well. We can not believe it it's already 20 years. We were not too far from Berlin (Poland) but since that day we started to see a lot of positive and long waited changes. Thank you for a great post!
Katerina, thank you for making it so easy to view Reagan's speech again and to see the wall coming down. This anniversary comes during some crucial times in our own country when our citizens need to remember Freedom Isn't Free and there must always be those who watch to protect it. Reagan is one of our greatest Presidents. And you have led an amazing life!
Katerina - what a tremendous story you have!!! Thank you for sharing it. My grandfather went and got a piece of the wall and he sat our whole extended family down over Thanksgiving that year and told us what it symbolized and how our freedom and Constitution is precious. I so appreciate his influence - he was a nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project during WWII. Tremendous man and I'm so grateful for stories like his and yours!
It still amazes me that that wall stood for 30 years. I just couldn't imagine the culture that exsisted in that city. What a great post. You inspire me to write a tribute!
Katerina - I was in Germany - not in Berlin though. I was working as a local national for the U.S. Government and at that time I was in training in Southern Germany. There was a lot of action, news and celebration at that time. I was in Berlin before the wall came down, visited the East German side with friends - a very different look as I was used to. I remember going into a store and shelves were empty. I remember pictures of their president Erich Honecker all over - a typical communist country. I also remember my car being taken apart by guards looking for who knows what - in my steering wheel where the horn was located.
East Germans had to wait for a new car (Trabbi) a long time - I think it was around 10 years. As soon as the borders open, we saw a lot of those cars in and around the city I came from, which was not too far away from the borders. Soon thereafter, taxes were imposed to German citizens to help rebuilt and help East Germans receiving the same social benefits as we were accostumed to - this is mostly the reason why West Germans still are frustrated with the way it was handled back then and suffering from high unemployment rates and high health care costs, social security benefits that eventually drained the funds we as Germans enjoyed.
Freedom comes at a high price and I'm really glad that the wall came down, which I lived with all my childhood and young adult. But there is some sadness in all of this that I'm ashamed as I experienced it when I visit family and friends in Germany.....If you ever get a chance to speak to a German that always lived in the West - ask him or her how they really feel - you may be surprised by the answer.
Nestor, thanks for being so personal on your post. I barely knew what my grandfather did in WWII and wish he had more time on this earth to share his story. Thanks for sharing yours.
I remember Glasnost, and the day the Strategic Air Command stood down. What a hopeful day that was, I remember thinking it was the first time in my life a bomber wasn't above me. I also remember thinking it woould be a safer world. My regret is that it wasn't to be.
The Fall of the Wall was a great day, as was the fall of the 'Evil Empire".
We can always hope we can learn to be civilized some day.
Thanks for sharing. Although I did not go see what you've seen or gone through, I too, as an immigrant, treasure my status as a naturalized citizen.
I've met and listened to a lot of stories from people who have risked their lives to reach the shores of freedom.
To this day, I cannot listen or sing "God Bless America" without tearing up. this song reaches deep into my soul and reminds me of how lucky indeed I am and my family that we are now part of this wonderful United States of America.
Petra- Freedom does come at a price. I thought about what you said in your comment a few hours ago as I was washing some dishes before I even read your comment. Because I know how the Russians became so accustomed to having everything handed to them and how they became such heavy drinkers to drown out their sorrows- I wondered about the burden that East Germany placed on West Germany. It was the West Germans who had the courage first to walk into East Germany. That too amazed me. When you suppress people for so long it almost becomes like they are not sure they really want freedom. My uncle was an alcoholic, it was his numbing substance to all that he lost because of Stalin. He was so talented, a famous chef, and I watched as he pissed his life away, rotting out his liver, etc. It was hard for me to understand why there is such an alcohol problem in the eastern block. I could go on for days about my life in Germany also. I had good memories but also some bad ones. Children were not treated well in Germany in the 60's when we lived there. I understand the resentment, the afterthought since that is human nature. This is one of the reasons that socialism can never work. It is a failed experiment. It always will be.
Gregory- I was not a Beatles fan. My mother was. I was a Reagan fan. People in my mother's country of Latvia are thankful to Reagan for helping us get our independence back from the Soviets. I am glad that he pushed and I am glad that Soviets blinked. I will forever be grateful that we got our land back, our mother country back and the freedom to come and go. I am just sad that my mother was murdered before she could see that day that she had dreamed about for all her life since they escaped Stalin's murderous gangs, gulag and the Siberian train which took some of our relatives away, never to be heard from again. People talk about how many people Hitler killed, but Stalin killed more. But you don't hear about his atrocities much. Katerina
Carole- I remember seeing those faces also. Very sad indeed. When you suppress the liberties of people they become depresses and give up on fun. They are used to spending their lives in long lines to get a loaf of bread. This suppresses the human spirit of invention and crushes creativity. Humans were meant to be free. Katerina
Claude- Being a Navy brat was so cool! My father is a retired Captain of the US Navy. I am very proud of his service and all he has done through the cold war and his tours in Vietnam. He did 5 tours in Vietnam. He is a very brave man and I remember his awesome looking Navy uniform ( the Navy has the coolest uniforms!) with all those medals and badges and bars! It was really cool to see your dad like that when you are a kid. Katerina
John- Thank you for the reblog. Thank you for your service also. No matter what you did, it may seem not important but every one had their part to play. My father was very brave and did many assignments that not many officers could do. I loved to listen to his stories. Freedom is never free and all free men and women must realize that there is a price to pay for it.
Chris- Thank you for your service. My father was also Naval Intelligence. That was a big deal in those days. It is one of the reasons my parents got divorced also. It was a high stress job and our family could have been kidnapped by the east and we were always on guard. But I also understood even at that age about freedom and how some people have it and others don't.
We can speak on this subject with authority and first hand experiences. Nestor and his family escaped Fidel Castro and fled to Miami when Fidel came to power. I am first generation American, my mother's family came from Latvia. They escaped Stalin. That is a whole other story. We were betrayed by FDR as he and Stalin played chess with all the countries. But my family immigrated here to the US through Germany. My mother was murdered before the Iron Curtain fell which was a day she lived to see. Til that day, Stalin and his predescesors still claimed my mother as a Soviet citizen because of her anti Stalin activities. In fact, in Latvia, her poetry was passed around underground. Katerina
I also have special memories of that day that the wall came down. I also remember exactly where I was as a 10 year old girl when the Berlin wall went up. Listening on the radio in the dark of the night, traveling with my parents in the back of our car. I was so scared and concerned for the people and families torn apart. God Bless your Father for his service to our country.
I watched and cried. As a child I remember my parents talking about that wall, although I didn't understand it at the time.
But, Ronald Regan gave such an empowered speech, as the wall came down, tears flowed from my eyes and it was so hard not to be happy for the folks in Germany.
That remains of of the most awe inspiring moments I can/will ever remember. Growing up during The Cold War, the idea of The Berlin wall falling was inconceivable. And then to watch Germans chip at it with hammers, picks and their bare hands blew me away. I too am lucky enough to have a small piece of The Wall. To this day, it's on display in my office. And to this day, it gets more comments than any other thing on display.
What a compelling story. Thank you! It's hard to believe that was 20 years ago! I believe in freedom so am very happy we live in the good old US of A. Thanks again!
Hello Katerina, thank you for the powerful reminder of what the Berlin Wall stood for, and our President's unwavering courage to demand it's fall. Lessons I hope our current and future leaders will not forget. John
We have a section of the wall in our the NC History Museum. When I first saw it I approached it a read the graffiti, then walked to the other side....WOW it hit me like a wall. I don't know why but the blank white wall gave me chills. I didn't expect it. I gasped. My kids asked what what was wrong and I went in to a long explanation about communism and freedom.
Glad I caught this post. Thanks for the video. I did not know of your post; I wrote a short post about the Wall.
In the Soviet Union they downplayed the event, and we did not understand initially how significant and meaningful this event was. It came to us (many of us) later.
And, of course, they avoided mentioning Reagan's words.
Katerina,
That was an amazing story! I loved watching the video's. My husband and I were on 3 week vaccation in Europe the summer the wall came down. We had the whole trip planned and didn't realize till we got there what was going on in Berlin. At the time it was a hard decision to make as to how we could change our plans and get to Berlin. We didn't got but looking back, if we could make that choice again, we would have done whatever it took to make it happen.
Thanks so much for your wonderful post!
Hi, Katerina. What a wonderful post! I changed agencies last week and have been overwhelmed with a tsunami of paperwork so I missed a few days of Active Rain. I'm glad I went back and read this; you have such a wonderful way of telling a story. I lived in Germany, too, and South Korea as well and found it so sad to have a country divided, where one part was free and the other wasn't.
Makes me realize how lucky we are, to have the freedom we have.
Thank you everyone for your wonderful support and comments. I was trying to get to back to each of your comments individually but we have big thanksgiving dinner for our church that we are helping with tomorrow so I have a lot to do to make sure we have enough food for everyone. One of my sons who is a chef donated his time to cook much of the food and Nestor was kind enough to go and buy and then donate the food items for 300 people. So I need to be supported of these great guys in my life.
This is my favorite type of post to write, from my heart, so I am glad you were all a part of sharing my story. Thank you. Katerina
My wife and I have friends who live in East Berlin. They visit the USA every year with great gusto and relish in what they still view as their new-found freedom. When we visited them in 2001, Tilo was so excited to show us where the wall was torn down and for the first time he stepped over "From the east side to the west side!"
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Posted by 
Tilo and Katrin in Temecula October 2009.
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Katerina - I remember that I was a sophomore in college when this happened - it was one of the few news events that made an impact on my young mind back then.