Let the Dominos Fall: The Berlin Wall…

Opa and Antje celebrating the Mauerfall

On November 9^th, 1989, the boarder between East and West Berlin was opened. Thousands of Berliners streamed to the wall, on this historic night, to visit the other half of their city that they, perhaps, had never had the opportunity to see. East and West Berliners alike joined hands as they stood on top of the wall and celebrated together as one people for the first time in 26 years.

The domino stone wall

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, the city of Berlin constructed a "domino wall" that was symbolically knocked over at 8:15 on November 9^th. The dominos were large 1 meter by 2 ½ meter canvas covered bricks, which had been painted and decorated according to the celebratory theme. People from all over the world took part in the decoration of the domino stones. There was one stone painted by Nelson Mandela, another by the German government, and a several by various Asian artists. Each school in the Berlin area was also allowed to submit one domino, and it just so happens that my class was chosen to represent our school!

On our stone, my class decided to draw the Berliner bear, along with a colorful heart, and a peace sign. Each student in the class was allowed to paint a symbol inside either the heart or the peace sign that depicted what the falling of the wall meant to them. My friend, Katerina, and I paint a goldfish. Exactly how a goldfish symbolizes the ending of a 28-year separation of a nation was beyond me. However, that is what she wanted to paint, and being the new, clueless American student, I decided not to argue.

Standing in front of our stone

(The gold fish is at the bottom tip of the heart)

All of the stones were then gathered, and lined up domino-style where the old wall once stood. All together, the wall was made up of 1,000 domino stones, and stretched a distance of 1½ km. The wall started at Potsdamer Platz (the business district), past the Jewish memorial, the Brandenburger Tor, the Reichstag (German capital,) and ended at the Spree (the largest river that runs through Berlin.)

One of my favorite stones

("Wir" mean "us" in German)

On the morning of November 9^th, my class took a field trip to see our stone, and take part in the celebration. Unfortunately, it rained the entire day, and half of my class ended up catching a cold, however, just being in downtown Berlin was worth the discomfort. Walking past the stones, and seeing the colorful pictures depicting peace, love, separation, and grief, was truly a moving experience. Even in the rain, there was not an unhappy face in the crowd. As we followed the snake of colorful stones, I could feel the energy and excitement building up in crowd. Old and young people alike smiled at me as I passed them. Looking in each individuals face, I could imagine their story. There was an old woman who, like my Opa, had probably lived through the war, the destruction, division and now reunification and restoration of her city. I saw a middle aged man who might have been one of the first to cross the boarder and to stand on top of the Berlin wall, hand in hand with a complete stranger. There was a young girl who, like myself, only knows of the wall though history and cannot even begin to imagine what it must have been like living in a divided city. Everyone was thrilled to be there, and everyone was looking forward to the seeing the stones fall.

In front of Brandenburger Tor on November 9th

That night, there was a large celebration in front of the Brandenburger Tor where the stones were symbolically knocked over. Due to the rain, my host family and I decided to skip the crowds and watch the dominos fall from our cozy living room. Even while sitting on the couch with a cup of tea in hand, I found the ceremony very moving. Angela Merkel (the German Kanzlerin,) along with Damitri Medwedjew (the President of Russia,) Nicolas Sarkozy (the President of France,) Gordon Brown (the Prime Minister of Great Britain,) and Hillary Clinton were all in attendance, and they each spoke about what the falling of the wall meant to them and their respective country. Afterwards, there was a short concert by Bon Jovi, and then the moment of truth: the falling of the wall.

Smiles and tears were plenty at that moment. Even though I was watching the event on the television, I could feel the excitement. The fall of the domino stones sent a pulse through the crowd. All eyes in the world were, once again, fixated on a colorful wall in Berlin. With each falling stone, the energy at the Brandenburger Tor, and in our living room escalated. Mina and I watched the event with giddy euphoria. Stone upon stone came crashing down, the chain reaction becoming quicker with every fall. We started cheering them on, “Ja! Ja! Schneller, schneller!” My host Grandparents just started at the screen, their eyes glistening with tears.

I asked my Opa what remembered what it was like, hearing that the wall had fallen. He said that at first he could not believe the news. He just sat there, by the radio, and cried. Then, the next day, he rode his bike through the Brandenburg countryside, and re-visited the places of his childhood that he had been forbidden to visit for years. After 26 years under the control of the DDR, the buildings and streets of Brandenburg and all of East Germany were completely destroyed. Opa remembers feeling mixed emotions of absolute joy to finally be able to return “home”, and anger towards the East for the lack of care they showed his land. This anger was, however, justified. East Germany was in ruins by the time the wall fell. Marvelous buildings that had been damaged during WWII, such as the Berliner Dom, were never renovated. The streets were full of potholes, buildings were in ruins, and the train system was practically unusable.

After the reunification, West Germany spent billions to repair and restore the East. Even though the majority of West Germans were thrilled that the Germany was once again reunited, there was, and still is, a bit of resentment towards the East for their high usage of “western” tax dollars. I have heard Germans complain about how hard earned taxes are being poured into the re-construction of East German roads and buildings. They wonder why East Germans are receiving the same healthcare and retirement benefits as West Germans as East Germans have only been paying taxes for 20 years. Personally, I find this shocking. Why should one half of the same people be punished again for simply living in the wrong place at the wrong time? Germany is, once again, one Germany, and everyone should be treated equally. However, despite any feelings of resentment, anger, and mistreatment, the Germans came together once again, and ecstatically celebrated, as one united country, the 20^th anniversary of the falling of the Berlin wall.