the BERLIN WALL

20th anniversary of its fall coming up!!

i just had to do a lot of research about it for my work--the story of its fall is really fascinating imo, especially how sort-of accidental it was!

http://www.presidentialtimeline.org/html/images/objects/0629_lg.jpg
http://photos.igougo.com/images/p310534-Berlin-Berlin_Wall.jpg
http://berlin-audiovisual.com/images/potsdamer-platz_460.jpg
http://www.teamboxer.com/aboutfiles/images/portfolio/walllg.jpg
http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/29738.gif
http://europa.eu/abc/12lessons/images/content_berlin_wall.jpg

some really amazing primary sources here, incl a transcript of the press conference where schabowski mistakenly told everyone borders were open 'effective immediately'

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1409&fuseaction=topics.categoryview&categoryid=BE949EBA-AC3C-D7AF-5B98808A1EBD6B9E

good timeline with a bunch of interviews in german: http://www.chronik-der-mauer.de/index.php/de/Start/Index/id/652138

Now I've got a reason to be waiting!

I spent one one summer living in Germany with my grandmother and it happened to be a year before the wall fell. We took a trip to Berlin during the time I was there and I have pictures of me as a little kid standing in front of it. I kind of wish I had been older at the time though because I don't really think I understood the significance of the whole thing.

I also remember watching the fall on TV with my dad and not understanding why he was so emotional. He was born on a farm just outside of what became East Berlin but nobody in our family had been back there since the wall was erected. We actually still own that property and I hope to visit or even do something with it someday.

Also, the best thing about the fall has to be Hasselhoff preforming "Looking for Freedom" on top of the wall in front of thousands of ecstatic Germans. They really do love him. I just wish I could find a better clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxAd2sHtMf0&feature=PlayList&p=4FEF6812FB6F776D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=6

Ha - this is much better quality but sadly it's just a short clip. Still you can tell how epic this must have been.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=terYQRjnATM