20 years back from tomorrow

[Mia001]

where were you ?what were you doing? when "The Wall " fell

were you witness of the event.....live or on TV ?

what did you think then ? and now ?

your impressions ?

[YesI'mcheap]

I was watching on TV with my family and our Eastern European friends. I was 11 years old. My Husband and his family were celebrating they know they go back to and see loved ones again.

[lekate]

I was 3 at the time and have no recollection of this!

[Lynn49]

We were all glued to the tv....I was in my 40s and honestly could NOT believe that wall was coming down! We'd always heard so many stories on the news about people trying to cross from Eastern German to the west, scaling the wall, the barbed-wire, then attempting to cross the 'no man's land' strip of land between the walls....which is where most of them were shot. When Reagan called out "Mr Gorbachov...tear down these walls!", most of us thought he was out of his mind....as in "who does he think he is, asking something like that??!!"...well....surprise, surprise......the sledge hammers came out, people were on top of that wall waving flags....and others were collecting "souveniers" of rock from that wall, and more importantly, others were shoving past all the activity to cross into freedom.
It was a miraculous moment for those of us who were raised knowing about that notorious wall...and never in our wildest dreams thinking we'd ever live to see it come down. Absolutely amazing!!!! I'll never forget it.
It did put a lot of strain on the peoples of West Germany who were suddenly inundated with new citizens who were without homes, jobs....and it took a tremendous amount of work and money to assimilate them, and although I don't know what the political climate is there now about it all, I do know that relatives and families were finally reunited and I doubt anyone is complaining too much...............

[daisybear]

It was the day after my ninth birthday, I remember this was one of the first political events that my parent made sure that my sister and I truly understood.

[Natalka]

My husband's sister was living in East Germany, still lives in the same place after the wall came down, and frankly, I don't know if or how their lives have changed at all.
But just in general, here, for us knowing that the wall was coming down was a very important event - after all, just a few months earlier I married a man who escaped Communism in an Eastern European country.

Thank goodness for President Reagan - June 12, 1987, speech at the Brandenburg Gate:
"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate.

Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.

Mr. Gorbachev -- Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"


You can hear the audio of his whole speech here:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganbrandenburggate.htm


History of the Berlin Wall -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall

[hotairballoon]

I was a little egg.

[Lynn49]

I was a little egg.

:sign17:
LOL!!!

[swallow_046]

I believe I was at home waiting for my parents to return home from work

[Patty Smyth]

My cousin lived in West Berlin for about 35 years and there is a picture of her in Time magazine standing on part of the wall when they were taking it down.

Actually if it were not for Pope John Paul ll it would never have happened. For those that think the Vatican is not involved in politics this is an interesting tidbit. He was the one that convinced Gorbachev to meet with Reagan and he arranged meetings between them. It was not well known back then but Gorbachev actually credits him with masterminding the whole thing.

[Minou]

It would have been the day before my twelfth birthday. I remember feeling an increasing sense of relief about what was happening in Russia and the Soviet Bloc with regard to glasnost and perestroika. The fall of the Berlin wall was the symbol of the progress that had been made. I had spent years worrying about the threat of nuclear war and saw this as a big step in making sure that such a conflict between the USSR and the west wouldn't happen. I used to lose sleep about it. I read the government publication from the seventies, "7 steps to Survival" time after time. Whenever there had been a presidential address on television, I would feel a sick feeling in my stomach, and would watch if I could just to make sure something bad wasn't about to happen. I remember being at Easter dinner (a few days early) at my grandmother's house in 1985, trying to listen to Reagan's address on television while we were eating dinner in the other room. I was about seven years old. My parents had no idea!

[jaba]

I was in kindergarden....

[save_girl]

I was too young, my parents didn't let me watch news until I was much older. But when my mother explained it to me it was very interesting - she actually visited both sides of Berlin before the wall came down when she was travelling in Europe, which was pretty hard to do. She described the differences she saw in the people and used it to teach me about how government and where we live influences our lives.

[pac182]

I was to young to care/know about it happening.

[Lua]

i was also way too young to really care or know what was going on. was probably busy playing with my barbies or my little ponies! lol