Thread: Berlin Wall - 20 years gone

He does have a point with that old witch, Thatcher, though . . . I keep scanning the obits to see if the hag has died yet

Originally Posted by panama hat

He does have a point with that old witch, Thatcher, though . . . I keep scanning the obits to see if the hag has died yet

Well, she has invented the Soft Ice. That is something to be remembered for.

Originally Posted by Milkman

I'm very curious (as an ignorant non-German).

Did East Germans accept the "Soviet System?"

What I mean is, German before 1945+ was anti-communist under Hitler, correct?

Then East German became "communized."

How did East German go from National Socialism to Communism, Soviet Style?

Because they were defeated? Or, they were actually apolitical?

Excuse my ignorance.

And when you say you were born in West Berlin but many of your family members were in the Eastern area, were you able to visit, say, for a few hours or a day?

Or, was it impossible.

Pardong the ignorance.

Takeovers has already answered most of your questions but I would like to add a few points.

Some east germans accepted socialism, some opposed, of course not too openly. The division went right through my family, not only the wall but politically too.

We have always been able to visit our relatives in west and east Berlin as my parents moved with me to Hamburg when I was 2 and west germans were never restricted unlike west berliners. We could visit the east as often as we wanted and did a few times. The only problem was the long waiting time at the border.

Most of the times we went by car. It was always a scarry experience to drive through eastern Germany on the way to Berlin.

The train was very slow. By plane was most convenient, just a 30 minute trip from Hamburg. I remember it were jet planes by PanAm. Lufthansa was not allowed to use the corridor, only planes from companies of the allies.

Originally Posted by Fabian

Most of the times we went by car. It was always a scarry experience to drive through eastern Germany on the way to Berlin.

Thanks, Fabian.

Why was driving through East German to Berlin, "scary?"

Originally Posted by Milkman

Why was driving through East German to Berlin, "scary?"

It was like entering a prison when you passed the border control. There always was the feeling you might not get out. Irrational, but many people felt that way. I drove through countless times. The feeling got less severe with time but was still there. I always felt relieved when I was through.

^ Thanks. Yes, East Germany seemed to be a very controlled society.

The Stasi (Secret Police) apparently had spied on 1/6 of the population. 18%.

And yes, a regular citizen/family being held in East Germany would attract, what attention?

Perhaps, it would.

I wonder if it ever happened?

Originally Posted by Milkman

The Stasi (Secret Police) apparently had spied on 1/6 of the population. 18%.

And they spied on the west. I was working for Deutsche Telekom which was an interesting entitiy for them. Once a coworker of mine passed the border control. When they handed his passport back to him they congratulated him on his recent promotion.

Originally Posted by Takeovers

Originally Posted by Milkman

Why was driving through East German to Berlin, "scary?"

It was like entering a prison when you passed the border control. There always was the feeling you might not get out. Irrational, but many people felt that way. I drove through countless times. The feeling got less severe with time but was still there. I always felt relieved when I was through.

Exactly. You could feel the lack of freedom. And in West Berlin I always felt a bit imprisoned too. Everything looked like in the west but you knew there was a wall around this tiny (west Berlin was just little bit mroe than half the size of Hamburg) island of freedom.