November 9, 2019 makes the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Many German people including Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said that they never thought it would happen in their lifetime.
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| Photo courtesy of dv.com |
The wall was built to close off access to West Germany. This was because so many people were crossing the border from the East to West Germany daily (an average of 2,000). The loss was devastating to the East German economy. To stop the exodus, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev recommended that East Germany close off the access to West Germany. On Sunday, August 13, 1961, 30 miles of barbed wire was laid through the heart of Berlin. Stores and business are closed on Sundays in Germany. It is a day for everyone to spend the day with their families. East Berliners were forbidden to pass into West Berlin. On August 15th the border of barbed wire to West Berlin was replaced by a wall of concrete slabs and hollow blocks. It was built by East Berlin construction workers under close supervision of the border guards. Those people whose homes were along the border were evicted, ground floor windows and front entrances were bricked up. The barriers were modified and expanded over the years. The wall divided friends, families and loved ones, making people lose their jobs and more if they were trapped on the wrong side. The wall stretched 28 miles through Berlin. About 5,000 East Germans were able to escape across the wall to the West, but over 191 were killed. There have been many movies and stories about the escape of some of those people. There is a museum in Berlin today telling these stories. It is amazing what one will do to have freedom.
On the evening of November 9, 1989, East Germany announced an easing of travel restrictions to the West. Thousands insisted on passage through the Berlin Wall. The border guards opened the borders - Berliners climbed on top of the Berlin Wall, cheered and painted graffiti on it. The next day East German troops began to dismantle the wall. On November 3, 1990, East and West Germany were united again. In Germany it is called Unity Day. It is a holiday, just like the 4th of July is in America.
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| Photo courtesy of Telegraph, UK |
We grew up during the time of the Berlin Wall. We were in junior high and high school when it was built. We remember the morning we heard on NPR (National Public Radio) the fall of the Wall.
We had the opportunity to visit Berlin in August of this year. Below are some of those pictures. We have often wondered if our children or our grandchildren even know what the Berlin Wall was and why it was built. Therefore we have shared this post for them as we have been counselled to share these memories and stories.
"We had similar dreams, aspirations, and hopes for our lives. Of course we had our differences too, but our intrinsic values and goals were similar. We found ways to focus on the similarities we had rather than the differences. Over time, the miracle of unity happened for Germany." Elder F. Uchtdorf
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