Berlin Wall: A revolution in revolution

More than anything, the reunification of Germany showed that rapid political change of a revolutionary scale needn't be accompanied by violence.

Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as the symbolic conclusion of the end of the Cold War. If the size and atmosphere of the crowds on the streets were any indication, the city – always on the creative and cutting edge – is ready for a party. The Brandenburg Gate – the site of much jubilation and many of the now iconic photos of young people dancing on the wall 20 years ago – is now (ironically) mostly blocked off, made into a fortress for visiting dignitaries, politicians, and broadcast media.

On the former “Western” side of the Brandenberg Gate, 1, 000 life-size dominos were lined up, brightly painted and decorated by Berlin’s school children and artists worldwide. They would be “toppled” early last evening, amidst fanfare, speeches, and outdoor concerts. The messages were repetitive and obvious: peace, non-violence, and unity. They remind us that, more than anything else, 1989 was a revolution in the history of revolution, replacing the assumption that rapid political change of a revolutionary scale simply had to be accompanied by violence. Put simply, the self-organizing democratic opposition of Central Europe owed more to Gandhi and Martin Luther King Junior than to Marx or Lenin.

Tens of thousands descended upon Berlin last weekend in anticipation of the big event, and what has been surprising for me is how many of the tourists are Germans. Although one hears a lot of English, French, Italian, and Spanish spoken, it’s clear from the many tour groups and conversations that Germans from across the country have come to celebrate together, and rightly so. Berliners and Germans probably feel they deserve a party – this “Fest der Freiheit” or Festival of Freedom as it has been dubbed by the organizers. After all, they have paid for it.

The cost of the German reunification skyrocketed by the mid-1990s – estimated at over a trillion dollars. By the late 1980s, East German industry was entirely obsolete and the country was nearly bankrupt. The supposed economic strength of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik – much like the East German women’s Olympic swim team, pumped up on hormones and steroids – was a propped-up mirage whose success could only be time-limited. Although Berlin today is a sparkling European capital with beautiful new architectural monuments and embassies, unemployment rages on, somewhere between 15 and 20 per cent. Graffiti and public vandalism hint at disenfranchised youth, homelessness, and drunkenness – evidence that for many, this might have been one transition too many.

As a whole, Berlin and Germany have been dealing with the demons of their past well, and continuously. Every German child learns about the Holocaust in school, and the horrors of the Nazi regime. Germany is a comfortably consolidated democracy, and possesses all the hallmarks of a successful liberal polity: free and independent media, a robust judiciary, healthy regional political difference and debate. And although Berlin exudes a multicultural ethos that should be the envy of other continental cities, I’m left wondering at how much this apparent integration exists only at the surface, and perhaps only in the urban metropolis. In an interactive poll for visitors of the Jewish Museum yesterday, my daughter and I were shocked to discover that fully 30 per cent of Germans who participated felt that being born in Germany was not enough to qualify for German citizenship. Neither of us could imagine a poll with similar results conducted anywhere in Canada or the United States. The headline of the Jüdische Allegemeine – the Jewish daily newspaper – on sale in the museum bookshop, appropriately reminded its readership that November 9 should be remembered not only for the fall of The Wall, but for Kristallnacht, the fateful night in 1938 when the Nazis led their countrymen in desecrating and burning synagogues and destroying Jewish-owned businesses. A sombre reminder indeed.