37 years after the fall of the Wall: a former East German reflects on the turning point

A commemoration marking the 37th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall took place on Monday. According to the article, politicians recalled the peaceful revolution, and students spoke about freedom and hope. Participants placed roses in the remains of the former Wall.

Among the guests was a 60-year-old man from Neubrandenburg, who experienced the opening of the East German border as a young man. Holding a rose, he gave his assessment of the period. In his words, people in the East wanted to consume, and the West created new markets for itself. The article says this kind of view did not come up in the speeches, nor did some other perspectives.

The author describes commemorating the Wall's fall as a difficult task. In the author's account, it is largely a routine appointment for politicians. The piece says some guests from the Berlin Senate and parliament quietly checked their email during the service in the Chapel of Reconciliation. It also notes that people who enjoyed living in the GDR, or who like to see it in a favorable light, were not invited, so many Germans were not represented.

Pupils from the neighboring Ernst-Reuter-Schule, an integrated secondary school, and from the Lycée Marcel Rudloff attended the ceremony near one of the last GDR watchtowers. The author says they seemed detached and calls that understandable, since the GDR means little to many young people. The rest of the article is behind a paywall.