Unforgettable Experiences Issue 9 Home Page

I Didn't See the Fall of the Berlin Wall Mömke Rockmann from Germany Mömke Rockmann laments not witnessing this important event in history. Photo: Sandy Peters Mömke Rockmann stands next to a piece of the dismantled Berlin Wall now located on the campus of an American university.   I have always loved to read historical novels, and so I could imagine being in every place of this world in the past. I've been fascinated by the Indians and the Aborigines because of their simple life and their adaptation to nature. I loved reading about the construction of the pyramids in Egypt and all the stories about Cleopatra and the Roman Empire. I tried to imagine life in Troy during the siege. But there is also one event in the most recent history I really would have liked to have witnessed: the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. I was in France at that time on a student exchange with my class. I can remember that before we left Germany, the "Leipziger Montagsdemonstrationen", peaceful demonstrations of the people in the former East Germany against the communist government, were already being discussed in the media. So, when it happened, I only saw this event on TV. But these pictures all seemed so artificial to me. They could not really touch my emotions. I would have liked to be in Berlin and feel the enthusiasm and the joy of the inhabitants of the city. Pictures and movies cannot replace the real experience! Waiting excitedly in the crowd in the western part of Berlin, being already able to hear the shouts from the other side of the wall without seeing anyone, listening to their slogans, e.g., "Wir sind das Volk!" ("We are the people!") and listening to the news on the radio. Could it be true that after more than 27 years, this separated city could come together again and heal the wounds of this separation? Rumors circulate: no one could imagine that the communist government would simply open the border without a fight. Everybody in the crowd fears its reaction and is waiting for the first shots of the soldiers who guard the wall. But deep in their hearts, everybody also has a glimmer of hope. The miracle could become true. And they all stay in the cold November evening because they feel that they're all witnessing a special moment of Germany's history. I would have liked to have been in that crowd when the first people passed the border and were received with open arms. The joy, the happiness, the overwhelming feelings of that moment would be very important memories for me. Such an experience is unforgettable. And the triumph without bloodshed is an example of the success of peaceful tenacity. When I came home a few weeks later, the everyday life and the shock of reality had already come back to Germany. And I still feel sorry about missing such an important day in Germany's history. More unforgettable experiences: I Had a Whale of a Time | Hallucination on the High Seas Reaching the Top of the Mountain Return to: Unforgettable Experiences | Issue 9 | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine - ©1997-2007 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics mag@gmail.com