When I first stood at the Berlin Wall in 1971, 10 years after it was built, I seriously did not think I would live to see the day it came down. Communism was advancing around the world and seemed so deeply entrenched.

In 1989, I watched on TV as the events unfolded, from the prayer vigils in Leipzig to the opening of the Wall and its dismantling. A year later I was in Berlin again, this time joining Berliners out for an evening stroll or bike ride in the former no man’s land where the Wall had once stood. It was also the day when the East German currency was replaced by the Deutsche Mark which had been the currency since World War II in West Germany.

To get a glimpse of the changes, watch Good Bye Lenin which focuses on the enormous cultural change as the Wall fell down. It is comedy and satire at once.

For a look at life under Communist rule in East German, where seemingly everyone spied on everyone, watch The Lives of Others.

Since then, the road to integration of the former communist parts with the rest of Germany has made great strides, but the road has also been rocky at times. 20 years later there still remains work to be done, but we should not forget that the peaceful revolution was brought about by ordinary citizens who started by gathering to pray.

Claes

posted in Germany, news

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