It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since the Berlin wall came down and with it a very real symbol of oppression.
I was living in Germany then and remember well the events that lead up to the day when East German border guards just gave way even before politicians gave the final go ahead.
People could not believe at first what was happening and many couldn't believe it would last so people started coming over from East Germany into West Berlin thinking they better do it while they could with no intentions of ever returning.
I believe that every generation is witness to at least one great event in history. For me, this was the one. I still feel exhilirated remembering when my husband and I travelled to Berlin a month or so later and for the first time saw gaping holes in the very same wall that was thought to have been indestructible and not conquerable. There were people chiseling away at the concrete and the ever industrious people of Berlin were renting tools to tourists.
Since that time, Berlin has changed. East and West are melting together again at least in urbanization, there is very little evidence left of the wall. East Berlin has developed from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan full of life and hope for the future of all of Germany and by extension of the free world.
The post that follows is by Katerina Gasset sharing her memories of that time. Please go to her post as well and read up on some of the comments. Her memories, mine, and those of so many others will forever be the legacy of the events that have shaped the years that followed.
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!
All content, including text, original art, photographs and images, is the exclusive property of Silvia Dukes, P.A. and may not be used without expressed written permission of Silvia Dukes, P.A. Copyright 2009
7 Comments on Remember When: 20 Years since the Fall of the Wall
NOV
10
2009
Silvia- Thank you for the reblog and sharing our experience on this great day and the years leading up to it. It forever is in my mind and heart. I was watching youtube videos today of this event and my eyes swelled up with tears as I remembered all of this as it happened yesterday. It is so great to see Germany flourish the way it did after the wall came down. Now they are the ones warning us about not making certain mistakes:)
I was in Germany in the late 70's and took my two sons one day visit to East Berlin. It was a scary ordeal and I will never forget it. There were soldiers with huge guns patroling everywhere and the lack of freedom was obvious. The beautiful buildings were still in ruins from the war, and everything did seem gray and dull.
Katerina, thank you for sharing yours as well. It's a wise thing to look back into history more often to analyse the actions and events of the past that lead to the consequences that caused so many people to suffer. And all you can think is "why?" and "for what?" and just hope the same mistakes are not repeated.
Sandra, you are right. East Germany was void of color. It was like day and night travelling from the West to the East, the West being colorful and beaming with life, versus the East grey, dull, and depressed.
I remember working with a lady who had escaped from East Germany and how excited she was about the smallest things that we in the West were taken for absoulute granted such as gift wrap (which she saved and sent to relatives in the East) or just any product packing.
Silvia, Thank you for re-blogging this. 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.
In all reality what's the difference today is that Wall was moved a little bit East,that's all.All European Union countries are going to have a Wall to divide the "Zone" to Union and non Union.
What is really sad is the gap in mentality which will take the centuries to disappear.
I have been held at gun point once or twice just like Gary was and I have been fighting with communism for years just to end up in Europe again and to find out that so called friends don't even have one job for me when I needed it but instead they had insults,spits and stones.
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Silvia- Thank you for the reblog and sharing our experience on this great day and the years leading up to it. It forever is in my mind and heart. I was watching youtube videos today of this event and my eyes swelled up with tears as I remembered all of this as it happened yesterday. It is so great to see Germany flourish the way it did after the wall came down. Now they are the ones warning us about not making certain mistakes:)