So we all know that Berlin once upon a time had this little wall. Starting in 1989, this little wall was torn apart – parts of it became walls behind urinals, other parts became chunked protrusions in buildings, and even more parts divided amongst the world’s populace as tourist trinkets. Yeah, I’ve read about this wall. I’ve read about how people escaped in hollowed-out car dashboards, I’ve read about how people were separated for 30 years. But I don’t think I really understood the real meaning of this hunk of cement that circled West Berlin, cutting through the city center. I don’t think I can even really fully understand this meaning, but I was really moved and struck by the flood of epiphanies as I stood where the former wall was.
First, the wall encircled an island of west. It was built not to keep the West out, but to keep the East in. After the East became a state-controlled communist nation, many of the leading intellectuals moved to the West where censorship (not just big black marks through letters, but the dictation of what may/could be produced) thing was not a problem. So up came the wall – immigration laws were made more strict (keep in mind that East Berlin was a totally different country and West Berlin was stuck in the middle).
First, the wall encircled an island of west. It was built not to keep the West out, but to keep the East in. After the East became a state-controlled communist nation, many of the leading intellectuals moved to the West where censorship (not just big black marks through letters, but the dictation of what may/could be produced) thing was not a problem. So up came the wall – immigration laws were made more strict (keep in mind that East Berlin was a totally different country and West Berlin was stuck in the middle).
Imagine if your town were all of a sudden divided. Where you used to work is no longer accessible to you. Where you grew up is now behind this big cement curtain, unsure if you’ll ever be able to see it again. You can tell it’s still there – the sky still hovers above, but it is just beyond your reach.
Suddenly families were separated; mothers from children, husbands from wives. Friends were no longer able to communicate or see each other. Two completely different social, political, and economic systems grew next to each other but largely separate from each other. The Easterners were reminded many times daily that this wall existed – Border police monitored the border around the clock, dogs roamed the “death strip,” and all facades facing the west were bricked over. The city was split in half. The commuter trains and subways that had once connected all sides of the city were partitioned – the West got most of them, but when the trains went underneath the East, they couldn’t stop at the stations. If they did, they were met by the stern glances of GDR police.
Product availability made shopping a hit-or-miss experience. Fashion was designed using cheap materials, fruit was almost non-existent, vegetables had a small selection and the purchase of a GDR-made car had a 16 year waiting list. The Westerners could walk about their day as if the world surrounding them didn’t exist – they could shop at the largest shopping mall on continental Europe (KaDeWe), wear the latest fashions from Paris, New York, and Milan, eat whatever varieties of fruit, vegetables, and enjoy consumer goods from a toaster to TV to a family car from anywhere in the world.
The West had its economic miracle, the east continued with its deficit spending command economy, producing products with foreign currencies because the East German Mark was worthless in world markets. Plus, they had tacky fashion because of this government-controlled output of everything. For the West, the wall was a tourist experience: people would look over to see a long strip of nothing and then the mountains of housing projects built quickly to satiate the housing shortage.
Further into the East, it was as if the wall didn’t even exist. As one walks down the showcase-street of the GDR, one forgets that JFK is a donut or that Reagan demands that the wall be torn down. The abundance of Pickles and the shortage of Bananas were just facets of everyday life. One simply acclimated to the perpetual fear of being arrested for libel or treason – the person with whom you speak could easily have been paid by the Stasi as an informant and have a tape recorder disguised as his fourth button down. Loyalty to the state came from a few years of patriotic movements, an education that includes a heavily politicized history curriculum and flag-waving, and public holiday parades. After all, employment was abundant and housing was finally becoming readily available.
When the wall finally came down, yes, there was a celebration that the organism of the city was finally reunited, but by that time the Berliners had become so diverse – the postulate of divergent evolution. Yes, many people in the east flooded through the Brandenburg Gate towards freedom, but what could the do there? Their bank accounts contained money that was worthless, they lived and worked in areas supported, even run, by the government. Incorporating the Eastern neighbors into the People’s Republic of Germany was going to be a significant move requiring lots of money, lots of firm policies, and lots of time.
The newest generation of Germans never experienced pre-wall Germany. They’ve always been members of the BRD. The bridges made for the older generations have been built and everybody may cross them. Will we soon forget the pungent reality of this big scar?
Suddenly families were separated; mothers from children, husbands from wives. Friends were no longer able to communicate or see each other. Two completely different social, political, and economic systems grew next to each other but largely separate from each other. The Easterners were reminded many times daily that this wall existed – Border police monitored the border around the clock, dogs roamed the “death strip,” and all facades facing the west were bricked over. The city was split in half. The commuter trains and subways that had once connected all sides of the city were partitioned – the West got most of them, but when the trains went underneath the East, they couldn’t stop at the stations. If they did, they were met by the stern glances of GDR police.
Product availability made shopping a hit-or-miss experience. Fashion was designed using cheap materials, fruit was almost non-existent, vegetables had a small selection and the purchase of a GDR-made car had a 16 year waiting list. The Westerners could walk about their day as if the world surrounding them didn’t exist – they could shop at the largest shopping mall on continental Europe (KaDeWe), wear the latest fashions from Paris, New York, and Milan, eat whatever varieties of fruit, vegetables, and enjoy consumer goods from a toaster to TV to a family car from anywhere in the world.
The West had its economic miracle, the east continued with its deficit spending command economy, producing products with foreign currencies because the East German Mark was worthless in world markets. Plus, they had tacky fashion because of this government-controlled output of everything. For the West, the wall was a tourist experience: people would look over to see a long strip of nothing and then the mountains of housing projects built quickly to satiate the housing shortage.Further into the East, it was as if the wall didn’t even exist. As one walks down the showcase-street of the GDR, one forgets that JFK is a donut or that Reagan demands that the wall be torn down. The abundance of Pickles and the shortage of Bananas were just facets of everyday life. One simply acclimated to the perpetual fear of being arrested for libel or treason – the person with whom you speak could easily have been paid by the Stasi as an informant and have a tape recorder disguised as his fourth button down. Loyalty to the state came from a few years of patriotic movements, an education that includes a heavily politicized history curriculum and flag-waving, and public holiday parades. After all, employment was abundant and housing was finally becoming readily available.
When the wall finally came down, yes, there was a celebration that the organism of the city was finally reunited, but by that time the Berliners had become so diverse – the postulate of divergent evolution. Yes, many people in the east flooded through the Brandenburg Gate towards freedom, but what could the do there? Their bank accounts contained money that was worthless, they lived and worked in areas supported, even run, by the government. Incorporating the Eastern neighbors into the People’s Republic of Germany was going to be a significant move requiring lots of money, lots of firm policies, and lots of time.
The newest generation of Germans never experienced pre-wall Germany. They’ve always been members of the BRD. The bridges made for the older generations have been built and everybody may cross them. Will we soon forget the pungent reality of this big scar?
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