November 9, 1989 - The Berlin Wall Falls...

[Zulu Romeo]

I had grown up with a defined set of what was what in the world, knowing that there were two Germanys and that back in the past there used to be just one, and all the funny names that made up the USSR, who at the time were slogging it out in Afghanistan. When I heard that there was unrest in the Soviet bloc, I watched with interest even though I understood little of what was happening.

Then the Wall fell.

I remember seeing news bulletins of that moment when I was 10, and thinking how momentous this was. From that moment on, everything I knew was going to change. There was hope that Germany could finally be reunited in my lifetime, and indeed, a year later, two Germanys became one in a big live televised event (I think it was October 1990 when it finally happened). Of course, nothing prepared me for what was also happening elsewhere in eastern Europe, from the division of Czechoslovakia to the dissolution of the USSR, and the collapse of Yugoslavia a few years later.

There was indeed a wind of change throughout that turbulent period. It was for me one of the defining historical periods of our time.

Speaking of which...

One of my favorite musical groups, T'Pau, came out with this not long after the wall fell. (Try to disregard what Carol is wearing - I swear the woman has abysmal taste sometimes.)

And of course, who could forget this? (No matter how much we might want to... )

I preferred this sort of change I could believe in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Eyao-2KWo

 

[Candlelight]

I was 11 at the time. I remember watching the news broadcasts of the wall coming down. It was such an amazing time.

I might go watch Goodbye Lenin to celebrate.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

I was very young when this happened.

When I was older, I remember my school had a small chunk of the wall on display. Then somebody in my year stole it, which caused an uproar.

The first time I remember going to Berlin (1991), my mum bought me a "piece" of the wall. Of course, it wasn't real, but I still have it. If all bits and pieces of Berlin Wall sold to tourists were authentic, the wall would have passed through all of Germany.

Not to say yours wasn't real, though....

 

[Count Zero]

The wall actually went through all of Germany, along the border of the two Germanies, but yeah, most of the souvenir pieces are fake, of course.

I was 8 when it happened. To me, it's still the best thing that ever happened in my life. Even today, 20 years later, I find myself occasionally wondering about it and appreciating it, e.g. when I walk through the centre of Berlin.
My own life story is sort of entangled in it because we emigrated from the GDR in Febuary 1988 and I thought I'd never see my home again.
The footage from those days still brings tears to my eyes, even though there's now a sort of sadness inherent in them since all that enthusiasm and hope evaporated so quickly. Well, we're not very happy or content people, as a rule.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I remember staying at a house in Braunschweig as part of a foreign exchange visit. Being so close to the old East German border, the family I stayed with told me a few tales of people from East Germany coming across at the time of German reunification and being amazed at what they saw in West Germany. It must have been a very exciting time for the two countries.

 

[Sky]

I was twelve. I had a pen pal from Hungary that year and suddenly he did not write anymore. And then I got a postcard from West Germany saying "everything's different now!"

I remember watching the news in awe. My father and mother would collect all the newspapers and read them over and over again and repeat "Can you believe this? Can you believe this?" Some people were careful with their words since we still did not know how our big neighbor in the east would react.

 

[Count Zero]

We also shouldn't forget the influence the Polish Solidarnosc had on all this, and of course the government of Hungary who decided to open their border to Austria, thereby enabling a mass exodus of people from the GDR over Hungary.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Even today, 20 years later, I find myself occasionally wondering about it and appreciating it, e.g. when I walk through the centre of Berlin.

I plan to take a holiday in Berlin some of these days and take a walk along the line where the wall once stood. I really want to do it.

 

[Gertch]

I remember watching this with mouth agape. I remembered the stories my dad told me of how he and his family escaped East Berlin under gunfire as the wire went up right after WWII ended.

Thank you President Reagan for your huge part in taking down the Soviets without firing a shot.

 

[FreddyE]

I was 7 at the time and don´t have any distinct memory of it. But I watched the celebration on TV yesterday. It was great...and when the last line of dominos fell and the crowds cheered I really felt the importance of the whole thing. I loved the video message Obama sent...about "Letting hopes light shine"...and one other speaker said "Not the politics or the media or corporations made the wall fell...but the people of east germany themselves"

And the last song of the evening "We are one" was truly fitting and beautiful. It is the offical athem of the celebration (wich was called "Freiheit" (Freedom) by the way)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umvudfc7EU8

 

[Whoa Nellie]

I remember watching this with mouth agape. I remembered the stories my dad told me of how he and his family escaped East Berlin under gunfire as the wire went up right after WWII ended.

Thank you President Reagan for your huge part in taking down the Soviets without firing a shot.

QFT!

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" President Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987.

 

[SPOCKED]

I was 31 and my Dad was visiting that week from Florida. It was an amazing event and I remember my dad was particularly stunned by the unfolding news.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Thank you President Reagan for your huge part in taking down the Soviets without firing a shot.

Uh, yeah.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

The wall actually went through all of Germany, along the border of the two Germanies, but yeah, most of the souvenir pieces are fake, of course.

.

No it didn't. The border did, not the wall. Barbed wires and people shooting at fugitives did, but not.the.wall. That only went through Berlin. A common mistake, but still a mistake.

 

[Jeri]

People don't realize it took hours by car of driving through East Germany to reach the divided city of Berlin. Most of the border was far west of the wall.

We could see over into East Germany from the rise where we lived; we could get their TV. "Nummer Sieben, Bitte Melden."

 

[USS Triumphant]

Thank you President Reagan for your huge part in taking down the Soviets without firing a shot.

I'll allow it. But I'll add this:

Thank you, President Eisenhower, Levi Strauss, and Ray Kroc, for your much bigger roles in this regard.

 

[Count Zero]

Even today, 20 years later, I find myself occasionally wondering about it and appreciating it, e.g. when I walk through the centre of Berlin.

I plan to take a holiday in Berlin some of these days and take a walk along the line where the wall once stood. I really want to do it.

It might not be as spectacular as you think it is. It's also not as easy to follow these days (thankfully). They've marked the course of the wall by stones set into the pavement but I'm not sure how far that goes. It's actually quite easy to overlook, too.

The wall actually went through all of Germany, along the border of the two Germanies, but yeah, most of the souvenir pieces are fake, of course..

No it didn't. The border did, not the wall. Barbed wires and people shooting at fugitives did, but not.the.wall. That only went through Berlin. A common mistake, but still a mistake.

There was also an actual wall in places outside of Berlin, e.g. in Mödlareuth, but you're right, it wasn't continuous.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I plan to take a holiday in Berlin some of these days and take a walk along the line where the wall once stood. I really want to do it.

It might not be as spectacular as you think it is. It's also not as easy to follow these days (thankfully). They've marked the course of the wall by stones set into the pavement but I'm not sure how far that goes. It's actually quite easy to overlook, too.

Yeah, I know that, and I think it's really a good thing that Berlin moved beyond being "the city of the wall" and reclaimed its heritage as a living city. My wish to walk along the line where it once stood is not about seeing the remnants of the wall, but for my personal feelings on the matter. Being a son of the 80s, the wall mentality defined much of my childhood, not so much for everyday life here in Italy, but for its cultural significance.

 

[TheBrew]

I was actually living in Germany at the time and for a kid it was a strange experience. I had a chance to visit Berlin a year or two later and we had to be care of landmines. I have a piece of the wall somewhere.

 

[QuasarVM]

As Vreenak would say: "IT'S A FAAAKE!!!"