So its 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. Do you Remember it?

AMKC

Imagine its 30 yeas since the Berlin wall fell. I remember where I was for some of that day. I was watching the news with my Mum and Dad and the rest of the family. Watching all these people hitting the wall with whatever they could get be it a small hammer or a lump hammer etc and thinking its going do be a long time before they knock that down as well as asking the Dad why are they doing that and him explaining why. I was only a child after all and did not realise the significance of it at the time. Do you remember where you were?

Better Than Christ

I have a very clear memory of seeing it on the news on a Friday evening (don't know why I remember it being a Friday, but I do). My mum tried to explain what was happening, but I was only seven and didn't really understand the enormity of it all.

Dr. Bre

No cos I wasn’t born

endacl

I remember it well. There was a great feeling of 'all of a sudden' about it. The first domino in a chain of soviet collapse.

Sardonicat

I was 18 at the time so understood well the significance of what was happening. It was unbelievable. I'd grown up in a world with an iron curtain. To me, the Berlin Wall was as intractable as the Alps. It was just the way things were. To see it just being torn down like that was incredible. I remember the whole family actually standing up and getting as close to the telly as we could, we simply couldn't believe our eyes.

Immortal Starlight

Just vague memories of it really. Something kinda connected to it though is that I have a quartz clock for years. Picked it up today and for the first time noticed it says West Germany on the front. So my clocks more than 30 years old

Lirange

I remember my teacher telling me the Berlin Wall would still be there when I had grandchildren. We had been discussing Tiananmen Square and he asserted with some confidence that communism in China was on its last legs. He claimed communism was never “a good fit” with Chinese culture...I don’t remember the specifics of his reasoning. So I asked if the Berlin Wall would come down and he responded as above. He had been to West Berlin just two years earlier and had shown us video and snaps he had taken. He seemed to know quite a bit about Berlin and East Germany. So a few days after the wall was opened I spoke with him and he seemed to be in denial and trying hard to hide his bewilderment at the situation. I later spoke with him again, it was probably about a month later, and he admitted he was stunned but delighted about the whole spectacle. Admitted he was completely caught by surprise. Even with the protests in the GDR and refugee chaos in Hungary nobody really thought the wall was about to fall, least of all him.

So the most amazing thing about it for me was seeing how gobsmacked an articulate well travelled adult educator could be. Just his reactions to it all left a huge impression on me. It helped me to better grasp the weight of what we were witnessing at the time.

Fr Tod Umptious

endacl wrote: »

I remember it well. There was a great feeling of 'all of a sudden' about it. The first domino in a chain of soviet collapse.

The actual destruction of the wall was very sudden alright, even though there had been a crisis all summer in the Eastern Bloc where East Germans were traveling to Hungary and Czechoslovakia to try and get to Austria, no one expected for the whole thing to collapse as it did.

And all peaceful except for Romania at the end of the year.

Raconteuse

I love the joy in the footage - and so many other heightened emotions... and mullets, and moustaches, and perms, and bomber jackets, and shellsuits, and stone washed denim... and the Hoff!

Pekarirska

Remember crossing the border from Austria into then Czechoslovakia. Berlin Wall continuing as an Iron Curtain further afield. Forest and fields on Austrian side, then on Soviet controlled Czechoslovakia 3m high electric fence with barbed wire, 5m mine field, electric fence again, then 500m forest cleared and watch towers with huge lights installed scanning the area. Some small border crossing in the middle of nowhere.
The Cold war in all it's beauty.

Sardonicat

Raconteuse wrote: »

I love the joy in the footage - and so many other heightened emotions... and mullets, and bomber jackets, and shellsuits, and stone washed denim... and the Hoff!

And the stunned looking East German soldiers who made a few half hearted attempts at pulling people off and then just sorta shrugged.

Raconteuse

Cannot wait for the TV series Deutschland '89.

Highly recommend '83 - absolutely superb. '86 is good but nowhere near as good as '83.

'89 will be the Wall though - really excited to see their take.

Goodbye Lenin! is a beautiful film about it too. If Germans are supposed to be humourless you could have fooled me. Some excellent dry wit in all of the above.

Raconteuse

Pekarirska wrote: »

Remember crossing the border from Austria into then Czechoslovakia. Berlin Wall continuing as an Iron Curtain further afield. Forest and fields on Austrian side, then on Soviet controlled Czechoslovakia 3m high electric fence with barbed wire, 5m mine field, electric fence again, then 500m forest cleared and watch towers with huge lights installed scanning the area. Some small border crossing in the middle of nowhere.
The Cold war in all it's beauty.

Gorgeously described. It's weird the way there is almost an austere beauty to it, but of course it wasn't. It was repressive and brutal.

SafeSurfer

I remember watching it on TV. It was a slow build up over the preceding weeks with Soviet Bloc Eastern European states opening their borders. The fall of the Berlin Wall registered as a significant world event to my childish mind. However nothing like to the extent that the events of 9 11 twelve years later did.

Esel

It is a bit amazing to realize that the wall was only in existence for 28 years.

Ficheall

Lirange wrote: »

So the most amazing thing about it for me was seeing how gobsmacked an articulate well travelled adult educator could be.

He wasn't the only one gobsmacked, to be fair - the thing wasn't scheduled for the 9th, but someone missed a meeting, misinterpreted a memo, and the press and country just ran with it

mrsdewinter

Wow. Thirty years. In ways, it seems like yesterday. Until you realise that for much of my childhood, 'Europe' stopped at the border with East Germany. Everything beyond it 'belonged' to 'Russia' and was pretty much out of bounds, or v difficult to reach, as far as we were concerned. No cheap flights to Tallinn or Krakow. We'd never heard of Croatia, say, because Yugoslavia was pretty much terra incognito. We were reared on stories of Berlin being pitted with mine fields. Every couple of years, somebody would make their escape from East Berlin by way of some daring stunt and it would make the News At Ten. Nuclear annihilation felt like a very real threat.
Mad aul times. No wonder 'we all partied' when we got into our 30s after the Millennium!

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

I was five. It’s the second big news story I remember. The Lockerbie bombing was the first.

DarTipp

I do yes , I was in 1st class at the time and one my classmates father went over to the knocking of the wall, I went over myself in 05

Wanderer78

<<Snipping deleted post>>

Was watching it on the Telly, didn't realise the significance of the event

Carry

Yes. I was there that night, at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. Most emotional moment in my life.

Hector Savage

I remember it well, I was in 5th class and was starting to get an interest in world events.
We were talking about it with the teacher and did class exercises on it, teacher brought in a load of newspapers!

No interwebs in them days - at least not for the laymen...

weldoninhio

Mods, could the title be changed to "So it's 30 years since David Hasselhoff brought down the Berlin Wall in Germany. Do you remember it?" for factual accuracy. Thanks :p

topper75

mrsdewinter wrote: »

...
Mad aul times. No wonder 'we all partied' when we got into our 30s after the Millennium!

Yeah. Political stuff...

THAT's why I was getting locked out of my head.:pac:
*official reason for pissing away half my wages*

Trigger Happy

I remember it well. I was in uni and we did not have a tv in our flat.
So went to the social club to watch home and away and the news was on instead.

Boom_Bap

I was watching it on TV and had no idea what was going on.

Mad_maxx

I followed nothing bar sport when I was twelve so I don't remember it at all

Recall our German teacher producing a piece of the wall in class one day the following year though

theteal

I was 6-7 at the time. I can't say it even registered.

Italia 90 the following year, clear as day!

cj maxx

AMKC wrote: »

Imagine its 30 yeas since the Berlin wall fell. I remember where I was for some of that day. I was watching the news with my Mum and Dad and the rest of the family. Watching all these people hitting the wall with whatever they could get be it a small hammer or a lump hammer etc and thinking its going do be a long time before they knock that down as well as asking the Dad why are they doing that and him explaining why. I was only a child after all and did not realise the significance of it at the time. Do you remember where you were?

I can't exactly where I was but I knew I was living in a era when history was been made. ( I know, before a smartarse posts ) The fall of communism and apartheid.
Loved it

Agent Smith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zXiClnK8oE

Captain Havoc

I don't really remember it as I was only nine at the time. Last year as part of my degree we had to go to Jena in the old East Germany. There are still remains of the old DDR with the prefabricated structures. We were asked to go and interview the people on the street about the fall of communism. We asked people about whether they saw it coming. Some people didn't want to talk to us (maybe some about it), some people said they knew it was coming and a couple of people said they were shocked. One couple said they were pissed off as they had a side business going from their garage selling west German beer. I did a tour of Berlin a couple of years ago, they're now very protective of the wall and they don't like people taking home samples. I did a tour in a Trabant, which was cool. He showed us where people were shot and also there's a preserved section, it's really grim.

banie01

I was 10, it seems really strange but much like Captain Havoc above.

I really felt like it was a moment in history.
If my son said that to me now, I'd be the 1st to tell him feck off!
History is judged in its aftermath...
But honestly, I suppose from growing up on a diet of Cold War propaganda.
Where the world was black and white, right or wrong!

That the collapse of what we all "knew" was an evil empire was surely an epoch shaping moment?
Even if I didn't know what an epoch was!

From the 1st crossings from Hungary into Austria right up to the actual collapse of the wall...
I remember it, maybe not well and more in a CNN coloured haze.
But one thing that does stand out is the tension surrounding what would happen if USSR cracked down, or if a border guard fired.

Hector Savage

Mad_maxx wrote: »

I followed nothing bar sport when I was twelve so I don't remember it at all

Recall our German teacher producing a piece of the wall in class one day the following year though

A few years ago I sent a few postcards from Berlin with pieces of the wall in a capsule plastered to the card.

I am not 100% convinced of the authenticity of the pieces though.

spurious

I remember thinking about flying over, but didn't. Raging with myself afterwards.

Hector Savage

Nov 7 , 1990
Mary Robinson becomes the first woman elected President of the Republic of Ireland.

evil_seed

Carry wrote: »

Yes. I was there that night, at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. Most emotional moment in my life.

you should do an AMA

sbsquarepants

I came home from school for my lunch and seen it on the telly. By coincidence my cousin was in berlin at the time on a school tour and he picked up a few pieces of the broken wall and brought them home with him, i still have one to this day, proudly displayed in a plastic watch box!:D

Conall Cernach

It's sort of hard to believe that it's been down longer than it was up. It was such a huge cultural thing growing up in the 70s and 80s.

The Bollocks

"So its 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. Do you Remember it?"


I do in my bollocks.

branie2

It started off the end of an era

hellsing101

My father still calls Germany West Germany for some reason. When we go to stores selling tools he would always ask me to check if it was made in West Germany.


It fell a few years before I was born so dont know much about the situation above the whole David Haselhoff song being a symbol of freedom for those involved.

Carry

evil_seed wrote: »

you should do an AMA

I'll tell the story of that night later here in this thread when I find a moment.

sunbeam

I was in my Leaving Cert year. It was widely tipped to come up in some form on the Irish and English papers the following June.

It didn't.

Carry

I was a journalist/editor for a newspaper in Berlin at that time, our editorial office was just around the corner from Checkpoint Charlie. We were all on alert because the tension across the wall in East Berlin was palpable and we expected that anything could happen at any time.

On this November evening a small group of female editors, including myself, went together with the editor-in-chief to a small cafe directly at Checkpoint Charlie to discuss feminism or such like.
Incidentally it was the famous Café Adler where John le Carré allegedly wrote (or was inspired to) his novel The spy who came in from the cold.

At around 7pm our photographer, a man of few words and facial expressions, shuffled into the cafe, returning just from that infamous press conference in East Berlin, where the eastern press officer declared that the eastern citizens will be allowed to cross the border, and after being asked the question when? he said rather unsure, I think now. That was it.
So now our photographer told us, the wall will be opened at any moment, and shuffled out again.

Stunned we went out to the Checkpoint to see what’s going to happen, our wineglasses still in hand (at that point we were all already a bit tipsy). More and more people gathered around the border checkpoint at the western side, more and more rather hesitant people gathered at the other side. The eastern border police stood still strong but became more and more unsure what to do with the situation and the increasing masses of people.

East and west of the border people became more confident and shouting: open the wall! After hours of tense and anxious waiting (you never knew how the armed border police might react) the border police gave up and simply opened the gates – and all hell broke loose. The people from East Berlin stormed into the west, there was hugging and kissing and crying and laughing and shouting – it was a true reunification, overwhelming for everyone.

Our editor-in-chief, a woman of considerable charm and quick-thinking, went back to the cafe, bought a bottle of champagne and brought some glasses which we offered to the eastern border police who finally let loose as well and accepted it smiling and joined the party. All the pubs, bars and cafes around the checkpoint contributed drinks for free, I think there was not one person sober that night.

That night all the rules and German reservations went down the drain in Berlin. Everthing stayed open, public transport run all night for free, East Berliners stumbled in amazement and in masses through the streets of West Berlin, being greeted and hugged by everyone. It was the biggest party the world has ever seen, I think.

At 6am I staggered finally home and woke up my flatmate, who got the short straw when humour was distributed. I told her that the wall is open, she said, go away you’re drunk, yes, I said, as is everyone in all of Berlin apart from you. She ate humble pie later for breakfast.

The following days were filled with work (being a journalist at this historic moment meant a lot of overtime) but with festivities as well. All the pop and rock stars came to Berlin, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Joe Cocker, can’t remember all of them, and gave free concerts. Most memorable for me was the Joe Cocker concert.

East Berliners got 100 Deutschmark “welcome money” and stormed the western shops. I remember that my local supermarket was almost empty, as were many other shops. From the next day on lots of people came with hammers and other tools to peck at the wall (I still have some pieces somewhere, real ones), but it took ages until the wall was finally pulled down.

After all the joy and partying reality hit. How to organise Germany now? How to look after the people who lost their state, their work and the very basis of their lives? It became ugly, but that’s another story.

Raconteuse

Carry wrote: »

I was a journalist/editor for a newspaper in Berlin at that time, our editorial office was just around the corner from Checkpoint Charlie. We were all on alert because the tension across the wall in East Berlin was palpable and we expected that anything could happen at any time.

On this November evening a small group of female editors, including myself, went together with the editor-in-chief to a small cafe directly at Checkpoint Charlie to discuss feminism or such like.
Incidentally it was the famous Café Adler where John le Carré allegedly wrote (or was inspired to) his novel The spy who came in from the cold.

At around 7pm our photographer, a man of few words and facial expressions, shuffled into the cafe, returning just from that infamous press conference in East Berlin, where the eastern press officer declared that the eastern citizens will be allowed to cross the border, and after being asked the question when? he said rather unsure, I think now. That was it.
So now our photographer told us, the wall will be opened at any moment, and shuffled out again.

Stunned we went out to the Checkpoint to see what’s going to happen, our wineglasses still in hand (at that point we were all already a bit tipsy). More and more people gathered around the border checkpoint at the western side, more and more rather hesitant people gathered at the other side. The eastern border police stood still strong but became more and more unsure what to do with the situation and the increasing masses of people.

East and west of the border people became more confident and shouting: open the wall! After hours of tense and anxious waiting (you never knew how the armed border police might react) the border police gave up and simply opened the gates – and all hell broke loose. The people from East Berlin stormed into the west, there was hugging and kissing and crying and laughing and shouting – it was a true reunification, overwhelming for everyone.

Our editor-in-chief, a woman of considerable charm and quick-thinking, went back to the cafe, bought a bottle of champagne and brought some glasses which we offered to the eastern border police who finally let loose as well and accepted it smiling and joined the party. All the pubs, bars and cafes around the checkpoint contributed drinks for free, I think there was not one person sober that night.

That night all the rules and German reservations went down the drain in Berlin. Everthing stayed open, public transport run all night for free, East Berliners stumbled in amazement and in masses through the streets of West Berlin, being greeted and hugged by everyone. It was the biggest party the world has ever seen, I think.

At 6am I staggered finally home and woke up my flatmate, who got the short straw when humour was distributed. I told her that the wall is open, she said, go away you’re drunk, yes, I said, as is everyone in all of Berlin apart from you. She ate humble pie later for breakfast.

The following days were filled with work (being a journalist at this historic moment meant a lot of overtime) but with festivities as well. All the pop and rock stars came to Berlin, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Joe Cocker, can’t remember all of them, and gave free concerts. Most memorable for me was the Joe Cocker concert.

East Berliners got 100 Deutschmark “welcome money” and stormed the western shops. I remember that my local supermarket was almost empty, as were many other shops. From the next day on lots of people came with hammers and other tools to peck at the wall (I still have some pieces somewhere, real ones), but it took ages until the wall was finally pulled down.

Fantastic! Reading that warmed my heart.

I'd by raging if I were your flatmate though - asleep for the best bit! :eek:

Elemonator

I wasn't around. I've collected stories from people who were around, my drum teacher visited East Germany and explained just how surreal the situation was. He said the Berlin Wall was like a warzone. Part of me wishes I was around to see it, but the other part of me is thankful that they got it right and I got to grow up in world away from all that.

weldoninhio

Carry wrote: »

I was a journalist/editor for a newspaper in Berlin at that time, our editorial office was just around the corner from Checkpoint Charlie. We were all on alert because the tension across the wall in East Berlin was palpable and we expected that anything could happen at any time.

On this November evening a small group of female editors, including myself, went together with the editor-in-chief to a small cafe directly at Checkpoint Charlie to discuss feminism or such like.
Incidentally it was the famous Cafdler where John le Carrllegedly wrote (or was inspired to) his novel The spy who came in from the cold.

At around 7pm our photographer, a man of few words and facial expressions, shuffled into the cafe, returning just from that infamous press conference in East Berlin, where the eastern press officer declared that the eastern citizens will be allowed to cross the border, and after being asked the question when? he said rather unsure, I think now. That was it.
So now our photographer told us, the wall will be opened at any moment, and shuffled out again.

Stunned we went out to the Checkpoint to see what’s going to happen, our wineglasses still in hand (at that point we were all already a bit tipsy). More and more people gathered around the border checkpoint at the western side, more and more rather hesitant people gathered at the other side. The eastern border police stood still strong but became more and more unsure what to do with the situation and the increasing masses of people.

East and west of the border people became more confident and shouting: open the wall! After hours of tense and anxious waiting (you never knew how the armed border police might react) the border police gave up and simply opened the gates – and all hell broke loose. The people from East Berlin stormed into the west, there was hugging and kissing and crying and laughing and shouting – it was a true reunification, overwhelming for everyone.

Our editor-in-chief, a woman of considerable charm and quick-thinking, went back to the cafe, bought a bottle of champagne and brought some glasses which we offered to the eastern border police who finally let loose as well and accepted it smiling and joined the party. All the pubs, bars and cafes around the checkpoint contributed drinks for free, I think there was not one person sober that night.

That night all the rules and German reservations went down the drain in Berlin. Everthing stayed open, public transport run all night for free, East Berliners stumbled in amazement and in masses through the streets of West Berlin, being greeted and hugged by everyone. It was the biggest party the world has ever seen, I think.

At 6am I staggered finally home and woke up my flatmate, who got the short straw when humour was distributed. I told her that the wall is open, she said, go away you’re drunk, yes, I said, as is everyone in all of Berlin apart from you. She ate humble pie later for breakfast.

The following days were filled with work (being a journalist at this historic moment meant a lot of overtime) but with festivities as well. All the pop and rock stars came to Berlin, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Joe Cocker, can’t remember all of them, and gave free concerts. Most memorable for me was the Joe Cocker concert.

East Berliners got 100 Deutschmark “welcome money” and stormed the western shops. I remember that my local supermarket was almost empty, as were many other shops. From the next day on lots of people came with hammers and other tools to peck at the wall (I still have some pieces somewhere, real ones), but it took ages until the wall was finally pulled down.

After all the joy and partying reality hit. How to organise Germany now? How to look after the people who lost their state, their work and the very basis of their lives? It became ugly, but that’s another story.

That must have been an amazing experience!! One of the best things I've read on boards.

w/s/p/c/

weldoninhio wrote: »

Mods, could the title be changed to "So it's 30 years since David Hasselhoff brought down the Berlin Wall in Germany. Do you remember it?" for factual accuracy. Thanks :p

The most amazing mimefest ever if you search for the video on YouTube... I've been looking for freeedooommmm...

Yep I remember seeing it on the news aged 7 and wondering what the hell was going on and my mam explaining it to me. Visited Berlin for the first time last year, great city with some history.

iguana

I was 10 going on 11 and I remember it as a massive event. Personally it was the first ever time I understood why people would cry when happy, because I cried watching the sheer joy and emotion people were feeling. I remember in the weeks beforehand hearing interviews on the radio about people, many from Germany escaping through Hungary into Austria. I particularly remember a man who was just amazed by how many bananas were in supermarkets in the West. And despite knowing Hungary had taken down it's border, my family saw that as the first step in what would be a long, long process. Waking up on what would have been the morning of the 10th and being told that the wall had come down was stunning.

It was a pretty amazing 7 weeks or so as the whole of the east started to open up. I also remember feeling really mixed feeling about the Ceaușescus. I had followed the revolution in Romania, the Ceaușescus escape attempt and capture with joy that Romania was also becoming free of what really was an awful dictatorship. But I felt very uncomfortable at the thought of a couple in their 70s being executed on Christmas day, after a show trial. Especially with the reports that they had begged to die together rather than one after the other, and the footage of their just fallen bodies which were broadcast on some channels.

vriesmays

NKOTB were top of the charts.

jippo nolan

My wife & myself were in west Berlin in 1985 visiting my sister who who was married to a west German national.
Her apartment overlooked the wall into east Berlin where we could observe the East German border guards about 1/2 a kilometre behind an area planted with land mines.
We paid a visit to east Berlin alone as he was not allowed travel there.
The welcome we got at check point Charlie from an East German border guard I will never forget when we handed him our two Irish passports, he proceeded to put us up to the top of the queue.
However, inside it was a miserable experience, still remnants of the Second World War, shops with very little on the shelves.
We also had a “meal” that consisted of mainly peas.
An experience I will always remember!