35 Jahre Mauerfall: Ayfer, living next to the Berlin wall

My memories of the Wall

In 1978, my family and I moved into an apartment that was only about three meters away from the Berlin Wall. We lived on the third floor of a listed building. We had a direct view of the GDR border. I was 14 years old at the time and it was fascinating and depressing at the same time to live so close to the Wall. I often stood at the window and watched the scenery to see what little life there was on the other side. The windows of the buildings opposite were walled up, as people in the GDR were not allowed to look into the West.

The only people visible were the border guards who kept watch there - usually one or two, in all weathers. It was a sad sight. While there was freedom on our side, the other side was under constant observation and control. Even then, I could sense the fate of the divided city.

There were both funny and sad experiences during that time. I will never forget one of them: My mother, who took our upbringing very seriously, was strictly against cosmetic products that me and my sister had just bought ourselves. As an educational measure, she simply threw all the unopened products over the wall. We were stunned, but the soldier on the other side collected everything.

So we lived on this constant border between freedom and oppression - an everyday life that shaped us.

​

Read the other personal Wall stories from our community here.