Prenzlauer Berg with Bernhard

I wondered why we were meeting at this particular S-Bahn stop, on the far edge of Prenzlauer Berg, in what - at first glance - seemed a fairly non-descript place. The name of the stop, Bornholmer Strasse, rang no bell. But then Bernhard opened our eyes.

We met Bernhard, a German historian of about my age, at the beginning of the week as he guided us through the DDR* Museum, explaining life in East Germany and East Berlin both as a historian but also as someone who experienced it first hand. He was fourteen when the momentous events of 1989 upended his world - old enough to be aware of the significance of the historical moment. Our group had loved how he mixed personal ancedotes with the more "academic" background (as when he explained how his father, a gardener had "bartered" tomato plants - apparently rare in the GDR! - in order to get a replacement door for their Trabi, a process that otherwise might have taken years). He used that same style to lead us through the streets of Prenzlauer Berg, making the history come alive at each stop.

That non-descript train stop? It so happens that it was the first crossing point between East and West Berlin that was crossed on the night of November 9, 1989, after Gunter Schabowski accidently announced on a live TV broadcast that the travel ban had been lifted. The border guards were caught, well, off-guard when thousands showed up at the crossing demanding to be allowed to cross. Without clear official guidance, the commander of the post gave the clearance to let the people through - and those began the night the Wall fell.

Winding our way back in time by a month or so, we also walked the streets on which the protest marches of early October, 1989, had occurred. We stopped on corners, like that of Stargarder Strasse and Pappelallee, where police tried to prevent people from going to the Gethsemane Church; at the church, thousands were gathering, making the authorities extremely nervous. When the police resorted to beating the peaceful protestors, apparently those watching from above apartment windows began to throw water and the like down on the authorities.

But even in those moments on October 8, none of the participants in the street-clashes had any idea that a month later, and just a short distance away at the Bornholmer Bridge, the Wall would come down and their world would change overnight....

Thanks Bernhard!

---

---