Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

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As hard as it is for some of us to believe, this November 9 it will have been twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The German federal government as well as the state and city government of Berlin will be commemorating this historic event all year long with presentations, special exhibits, and many events. The celebrations will culminate on November 9, when a two kilometer (nearly one mile) row of giant blocks will be set up between the Potsdamer Platz to the Brandenburg Gate. The blocks will then be knocked down like dominoes in front of the crowds gathered for the event. The blocks will also display graffiti-like artwork on them. Many of the blocks have been decorated by local children; others will be sent to other cities to be decorated. In fact, New Yorkers even had the opportunity recently to leave their own traces on this new “Berlin Wall.”

The Fall of the Berlin Wall was truly the most joyous moment in all of modern German history, something Germans can be proud of. Nevertheless, reflecting on the collapse of communism has not only been a cause for celebration here in the last few years. As the years pass, tensions and resentment between Ossies (“Easties”) and Wessis (Westies) seem to be growing instead of dissipating. Among the generation of Germans which has grown up since the Fall of the Wall, such matters play no great role in daily life. For those who were politicized during the time of German division, however, the problematic legacy of German reunification is often a constant topic of discussion. Ossies resent the fact that they still, on the whole, do not enjoy the same standard of living as Wessies. They are normally paid less and suffer from much higher rates of unemployment. Many miss the generous social benefits of life under communism (often forgetting the repression) and feel that they are now second-class citizens. Wessies, for their part, resent the enormous transfers of money to modernize East German infrastructure, while their own streets, railways, schools, and inner cities deteriorate. Moreover, they have not forgotten the several tax increases related to reunification, after they had been promised by the then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl that reuniting with the east would present no great financial burden. The strength of the former East German communist party, now reformed under the name of the “Left Party” remains a reminder of the unfinished business of German reunification.

Perhaps the celebrations this year will help bring back the memories of November 9, 1989, as East and West Germans laughed, cried, embraced each other and celebrated all throughout the night. The word most often heard that night was Wahnsinn. Indeed, it appeared to be “madness” that a horrible regime would collapse so suddenly, that friends and family who had been separated by a nightmarish wall would find themselves together again equally suddenly, and that something tremendous had happened in German history, without a single shot being fired and without any cause for shame or regret. It remains to be seen if Germans will rediscover this November 9 that they actually have more things that unite than divide them. Let the Wahnsinn begin again!