The Berlin Wall Fell 25 Years Ago -- Washington Post
East Germany tore a city in half when it tried to keep its people from escaping to the West
Imagine that your best friend lives a mile away. You have been pals since first grade. You do everything together: school, soccer games, sleepovers.
One day, men come and put up a barbed-wire fence between your house and your buddy’s. Later, they replace it with a very long, very tall concrete wall. Each slab weighs 6,000 pounds, and many of them are topped with sharp wire.
When they finish, you stare at the giant wall that has split your home town in two. On your side, the wall is ugly but not too scary. On the other side, rattling tanks, soldiers with machine guns and growling dogs keep people from trying to cross the barrier.
The wall stands 12 feet high. Your friend lives on the other side. You can’t see him. And you won’t . . . for the next 28 years!
Welcome to Berlin, Germany. The year is 1961.
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More News On Remembering The Fall Of The Berlin Wall
West Berlin recalls 'island' of freedom that vanished with Wall -- Reuters
Germans prepare to mark 25th anniversary of Berlin Wall opening -- FOX News/AP
Berlin to Rebuild Wall’s Outline in Lights 25 Years Later -- Bloomberg
Berlin Gets Set to Party a Quarter Century After Wall’s Fall -- VOA
Festivities Commemorating Berlin Wall’s Fall Kick Off in Germany -- RIA Novosti
The fall of the Berlin Wall: Stunning before and after pictures on the 25th anniversary -- Washington Post
9 Essential Berlin Wall Stories -- Lily Rothman, Time
My Comment: I was in China at the time .... but man-o-man .... I wish I was in Berlin at the time.
3 comments:
WNU,
It was amazing. To people of (ahem) my age, the wall, communism, and the Warsaw Pact all seemed so permanent. Then, like a wave of the wand poof GONE.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a surprise for me .... but it was a greater shock for my father (he never trusted the Germans). But what really hit my dad was when they brought down the hammer and sickle flag at the Kremlin. I was with my father in Red Square in front of the Kremlin when that happened .... and I will never forget the shocked look my father had when the flag was replaced.
For me personally .... that is an experience with my father that I will never forget.
"he never trusted the Germans" Can't imagine why!
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