I remember mentioning earlier this year that there are few events I remember in stunning detail. Tiananmen Square, the Challenger Disaster and 9/11 are up high in that list.
The fall of the Berlin Wall stands equally high.
I remember sitting up late one night with my mother watching people standing atop the Berlin Wall, striking it with sledgehammers and fists and everything they had at their disposal, tearing down a fading remnant of the Cold War.
We are about to hit the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I find it strange to think that there are adults now who grew up with the wall a memory rather than a real thing. I find it equally fantastic.
Hi Preston,
for me German reunification ist still a miracle.
When I was a teenager I learned about German history in school – ww1, Weimar Republic and great depression, ww2 and then two seperated German states.
When I was 15 everything happened in such a short time, it was like seeing history in fast forward. The revolution of 1989 started in Poland, moved to Hungary and led to the end of German Democratic Republic and collapse of communism in eastern europe.
Today we celebrate the fall down of the Berlin wall. There are still things which have to be improved after reunification, e.g. solving the high unemployment rate in former East Germany. But I believe we proved that a united Germany is no threat to the world anymore despite our bad history.
Greetings from (former West) Germany,
Otmanix
P.S.
Tommorrow I will start reading your book. I hope it’s as thrilling as your blog.
Hi Otmanix,
Thanks for your comments — it’s one thing to be able to reflect on having watched the fall of the Berlin wall from the other side of the planet, it’s an entirely different thing to see your perspective having lived through it.
I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the blog, and hope the book meets your expectations π
Cheers,
Preston.