Where were you 20 years ago today? At my ripe age of 8 on 9th November 1989, I can only remember sitting down at dinner with the TV on and my dad saying very earnestly: “Pay very close attention, this is a very important day in history.” We then watched people standing and cheering on top of a wall that really didn’t have much meaning to me at the time. Despite my father’s words, I wasn’t up to par on my world politics and I continued on with my careless and free 8-year-old life.
Now that I am living in East Germany, hanging out and working with those whose lives were most certainly changed 20 years ago, it’s a great time to look back and reminisce on the past two decades and beyond. Of course, we would take a look and see what our Marketplace has to offer:
If you are looking for a good overview of the 20 year anniversary, you are sure to find plenty on the BBC or Guardian websites. I would also point you in the direction of some great East German jokes which were collected by West German spies. My favourite:
“What would happen if the desert became communist? Nothing for a while, and then there would be a sand shortage.”
Where were you 20 years ago?
Ami
Dave
Well, I was an 8 year old girl on the right side of the wall. Right happening to be the opposite of left and being the eastern part of the German map.
And I don’t remember too much - i guess that’s because we didn’t have television or maybe I have become too old to remember.
Remember it well even I lived in Holland at that time. It was on the radio and television, it was a sort of collective relief especially when you had read about the life behind the wall and the Stasi/MIS terror. But most important is: a joint action of many people can make a huge diffrence for the good or the worse.
Thanks for sharing guys! Television or not back then, seeing the images from 20 years ago now still gives me goose bumps.