Fallofthewall

Mit Videos und Tourguide entlang der Mauer Wir müssen Euch wahrscheinlich nicht erklären, dass wir aktuell mehr Zeit haben, als uns lieb ist. Was wir dafür nicht haben, sind Gäste mit denen wir durch unsere wunderschöne Stadt radeln können. Das ist umso bedauerlicher, als das Berlin zu keiner Zeit des Jahres so schön ist, wie…

Text auf deutsch Horn and Muck dismantle the Iron Curtain After Hungary’s first steps towards an open border to its neighbour Austria were largely ignored by the general public, what happened on June 27th 1989 showed everyone, that the Iron Curtain wouldn’t only become permeable – it would be history pretty soon. While Hungarians were…

Text auf deutsch One day – two signals   #otd June 4th 1989 a few things happened that might not had a direct impact on the peaceful revolution in Germany but were an important part of the overall development. Mahnmal in Breslau für die Opfer des Tiananmen-Massakers. Zerbrochenes Fahrrad und Panzerspuren. 1. In Beijng military…

Text auf deutsch Gorbimania in the West Gorbachev was a darling of Western politicians from as early as 1986 when he first detailed his plans to “reconstruct” the Soviet Union under the twin labels of Perestroika (~change, redesign) and Glasnost (~openness, transparency) and a lot of freedom-minded citizens in the East took this as a…

deutsch Let Berlin be next “But the passion for freedom cannot be denied forever. The world has waited long enough. The time is right. Let Europe be whole and free.”   After a NATO summit two days earlier during which the alliance agreed on a new “comprehensive defense control strategy” US president George Bush visits…

deutsch A turning point for the opposition in the GDR 30 Years Later Foreign guest workers vote for the communal elections in the GDR 1989, where later the opposition found out about massive voter fraud. ADN-ZB Thieme 7.5.89 Karl-Marx-Stadt: Wahl- Im Wahllokal Wolgograder Allee in Karl-Marx-Stadt machten vietnamesische, kubanische und mocambiquische Werktätige von ihrem Wahlrecht…

deutsch Ungarn baut den Grenzzaun zu Österreich ab (Quelle: Kronenzeitung/AP) Hungary opens its border to Austria The iron curtain ran the whole length of Europe north to south, separating the members of the Warszaw Pact from those of the NATO in the West. Beginning in March ’89, Hungary’s government hinted at the possibility they would…

Deutsch The Day the Berlin Wall fell I always thought, that saying the Wall “fell” sounds a bit like it crumbled and just died of old age, while in truth thousands and thousands risked their careers, their freedom and ultimately their life pushing against it. On Novemer 9th this pushing became quite literally what opened…

  Text auf deutsch Honecker loosing his grip on reality Just days before the border between Austria and Hungary is opened, Erich Honecker, chairman of the Zentralkomitee (Central Committee) of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) is worried about the situation with his neighbours. Using a language that’s equally stinted and oldschool he rambles on and…

Text auf deutsch A new form of political dialogue At the end of the 1980s a rather new approach was making its first appearances on the stage of international high-stakes policy-making: the Round Table. The basic idea today seems so simple, yet nobody really understood the terminology: get all stake-holders together and sit them at…

Text auf deutsch The order that never was The legal processing of the order to shoot at the Berlin Wall has been a breaking test for the unified society that was just about to emerge. A lot has been left unsaid and buried deep in some archive. Bit by bit proof and details regarding the…

A step towards independence A key factor leading to the revolution in 1989 is Michail Gorbatschow’s doctrine, that the “brother states” of the Warzsaw Pact will be responsible for their own destiny, meaning a) the Soviet Union won’t stand in the way of national reforms, but it b) won’t help against people “with contra-revolutionary”agendas (read:…

Deutsch Flight and Crash with a DIY balloon The story of Winfried Freudenberg‘s life, flight and death is a tragic example of East-German ingenuity. Born in 1956 he later studies electrical engineering in Illmenau where he meets his future wife Sabine, a chemist. Even though thoroughly rooted in their community they had difficulties accepting, that…

Deutsch Chris Gueffroy: The last victim of the “shooting order” On February 5th 1989 Chris Gueffroy was shot at the Berlin Wall. He was the last victim of the “shooting order” and the overall penultimate victim that lost his life trying to leave the GDR to find a better life for himself. Chris was a…

Deutsch Honecker’s prophesy Erich Honecker was the most powerful politician in the GDR for nearly 20 years. What many people don’t know, even before he became 1st secretary of the Central Commitee of the ruling Socialist Party – SED – he shaped the history of his country. After spending more than two years in Moscow…

Flashback to the 90s A new exhibition at the old mint (Alte Münze) features an epoch that a lot of us actually lived through: the 90s. The first couple of years after the Fall of the Wall are shaping Berlin until today. The myth as THE European capital for electronic music and the culture that…

Mauertour: Von Lichtenrade nach Pankow – außen rum! Einer der großen Nachteile daran, beruflich Radtouren durch Berlin zu veranstalten ist, dass man während des Sommers kaum dazu kommt, die eigene Liste mit lohnenden Velotouren abzuarbeiten. Umso schöner, wenn einen ein Spezialauftrag quasi dazu zwingt. In der nächsten Woche hat sich ein sehr sportlicher Journalist angekündigt,…

Eine Barriere aus Licht und Luft: Die Lichtgrenze Am vergangenen Wochenende hat sich der Mauerfall bereits zum 25. Mal gejährt. Grund genug für die Stadt, die Berliner und ihre Besucher mit einer wunderbaren Installation zu beglücken. Entlang des Mauerverlaufs zwischen Bornholmer Straße und Oberbaumbrücke markierten knapp 8.000 große beleuchtete Ballons auf langen Stäben die Grenze….