Exactly three decades ago today, the fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of what was referred to by communist East German officials as âAnti-Fascist Protection Rampart.â It had been constructed almost 30 years earlier in order to stop the flood of East Germans fleeing socialism into West Berlin.
While the economy was struggling under the East German socialist dictatorship, free West Germany had experienced an economic miracle. Capitalism had lifted the West German economy out of the ruins of World War II and back onto the stage of world players, bringing wealth to a nation that had been devastated by the horrors of the war it had started years before.
By 1961, 3.5 million East Germans, or 20% of the population, had escaped to the West.
My parents were not among them. Born after the Berlin Wall was built and the inter-German border was closed, they both grew up in communist East Germany. Had the people of East Germany not stood up to their communist government, I would have been born in the East German dictatorship as well. I wouldnât be able to enjoy the liberties that we take for granted today, such as freedom of speech and of travel. There would be no way for me to speak my mind or visit any place outside the Eastern Bloc.
This is not just about the liberties that were denied to the people, but also the fact that life is worse under a socialist economy. East Germans were fortunate not to be starving to death like those living in Mao Zedongâs China, but basic elements of our lifestyle today were considered unattainable luxury goods behind the Iron Curtain. Meat and bananas, for example, were almost impossible to get. It was a daily reality for people to stand in breadlines, a practice praised by Sen. Bernie Sanders and by no one who ever had to stand in one.
Under socialism, if people were lining up somewhere, you joined them automatically because they were probably waiting for something useful, even if you didnât know yet what it was.
A lot of goods were extremely scarce and naturally, under socialism, their distribution prioritized those favored by government officials. It was all about connections. You know someone who knows someone else who is in a somehow important position, and you might be able to get meat for a very special occasion. People also exchanged some of these goods for other scarce products.
This understandably led to much outrage, which takes us back to that date of Nov. 9, 1989. It was that historic day that an East German government spokesman announced by mistake that new travel regulations would take effect âimmediately … without delay.â These new softer travel regulations were a reaction to the growing protests and public anger confronting the communist regime. The announcement, after being reported on by West German media, caused the people in East Berlin to come out in droves to the Berlin Wall and demand the immediate opening of the inter-German border. Unable to handle the situation and without clear instructions from their superiors, the border guards were overwhelmed.
The situation resulted in the opening of border gates across Berlin, at such historic places as the Brandenburg Gate, in front of which President Ronald Reagan just years ago had demanded: âMr. Gorbachev tear down this wall!â Within hours, a determined crowd of peaceful protesters had brought the communist regime to its knees. People climbed on top of the wall and celebrated in the streets, West and East Germans together, who had been separated for decades. Members of the West German parliament spontaneously began to sing the national anthem: âUnity and justice and freedom ⦠â
This night proved to be a defining moment in the modern history of my home country.
Just 129 days after this historic night, the first free East German elections swept the communist regime out of power. The former ruling party finished third, receiving less than 20% of the vote. Later, the new democratically elected East German Parliament voted to become part of the Federal Republic of Germany, the West German republic, effective on Oct. 3, 1990, which has been celebrated since then as the Day of German Unity. Within a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany was reunified.
But the reunification of Germany into one democratic nation wasnât an outlier, but rather part of the Eastern Blocâs transition to democracy after the Westâs victory over communism in the Cold War. America is one of the few nations to have been spared from this evil ideology. Perhaps this is why âdemocratic socialismâ hasnât gained popularity in the U.S. until recently.
Reagan once said: âFreedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.â While many Americans may have never experienced a socialist generation, his warning rings true for me. Indeed, just one generation ago in East Germany and elsewhere in the communist world, there was no freedom.
Sebastian Thormann is a student at the University of Passau, Germany.
