Comments on: Twenty years ago today…

By: Melissa Field

Melissa Field — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:55:16 +0000

Hey, I loved that movie, too!

By: jillsommer

jillsommer — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:17:47 +0000

How could anyone hate “Gotcha”? It was so unrealistic and over-the-top, there’s no way art was imitating life. I think you might have it confused with another movie. It was just a fun little movie with some paintball in it

By: Kevin Lossner

Kevin Lossner — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:50:44 +0000

“Gotcha”? Hated it! I’m not thrilled with art imitating life in such matters. Be glad you never got your wish.

The fall of the Wall was quite a liberating event, something wonderful I never hoped to experience in my lifetime. And now I am pleased to live peacefully in a suburb near Berlin where I would have had to keep looking over my shoulder before. I can even hop in the car and drive over the Polish border in an hour. Simply fantastic.

By: Thierry

Thierry — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:31:46 +0000

nice to hear all those nice memories, at least the wall inspired you to become a translator.
All I know is from books, I was too young in 1989…

By: jillsommer

jillsommer — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:58:40 +0000

Victor, the thought of you being called a hooligan is cracking me up Thanks for sharing your interesting perspective.

By: Victor Dewsbery

Victor Dewsbery — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:21:23 +0000

I was right here in Berlin, but I missed it on 9th November and only heard about it on the next day from a colleague at work. That evening (10th Nov.) I climbed on the wall at Brandenburg Gate with our 3 kids (at the time 12, 9 and 8) and a friend and enjoyed the mass festivity (and pitied the poor border guards who happend to be on duty that night). I was amused to watch the East German news on TV next day and learn that all those of us on the Wall were “hooligans” (I’d never been called a hooligan before, and I never have been since).
We live close to the former border around the west of West Berlin (not far from the “Heerstrasse” crossing point), and the teacher of our 9 year old decided to take her class for a walk to “see history happening” (i.e. the stream of GDR people coming across for the first time in their lives).
At secondary school all of our kids were in classes that included a couple of kids who had started school in the GDR. In fact, the mix of East and West has become fairly commonplace here, and often we don’t even know which side of the Wall people grew up. And there are plenty of “mixed” marriages, too (including my youngest son).

By: Sarah Dillon

Sarah Dillon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:27:59 +0000

And interesting addendum to my comment above: I’m in Melbourne for a few days at the moment, sharing a hostel dorm with 4 Germans from different parts of Germany… guess what we’ll be discussing over beers tonight!

By: Sarah Dillon

Sarah Dillon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:26:34 +0000

It’s funny how we remember where we were when the wall fell… it’s definitely one of those defining periods in history. Watching it on the 6pm news in my family’s sitting room in the west of Ireland is one of the only memories I have of both my parents being engrossed in exactly the same thing at the same time. Outside of that impressive fact, I wasn’t aware enough to understand what it meant in a wider sense!
I had my final academic study-abroad period in Jena (former GDR) in 1999, when they were celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the fall of the Wall. I felt privileged to be privy to the massive social and political review of the previous 10 years which was taking place in every home, classroom, pub and news outlet that I had access to. From that side of the Germany, at least, there was much discussion about the wall that still existed in the mind of many Germans… I wonder what the consensus is today?
I can’t believe it’s been 20 years! Where will I be in another 10 years?
Thanks for prompting such a lovely walk down memory lane.