35 years since the fall of the Wall: 7 personal stories

• 7 personal stories from our community about their wall experiences
• Open-air installation on November 08-09, 2024

7 personal Berlin Wall stories

It's unbelievable that it's already 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Nevertheless, almost everyone knows what they were doing on November 9, 1989. How they experienced this special time and what thoughts they had on both sides of the Wall. We asked our community for exactly these personal experiences and stories and received 7 great reports. Read for yourself and immerse yourself for a few minutes in the world of teenagers and young adults who experienced this historic event in their very own way.

• Ayfer, living next to the Berlin Wall
• Birgit, prospective travel agent
• Manuel, was fast asleep
• Matthias, switchman at the night shift
• Meike, Bitter orange marmalade
• Reya, Fall of the Berlin Wall in Rostock
• Thilo, school kid in Berlin-Frohnau

A big thank you to all of you. For your time, memories and trust in sharing these personal experiences and thoughts with us! Thank you!

Open-air installation along the former border of the Berlin Wall

35 years ago, many courageous people brought down the Berlin Wall. No, David Hasselhof had nothing to do with it. In the summer and fall of '89, small demonstrations eventually turned into large Monday demonstrations. These were an important part of the Peaceful Revolution in the GDR in the autumn of 1989. As we know today, democracy and freedom cannot be taken for granted. That is why we must defend them together. The motto of the 35th anniversary of the Berlin Wall is “Uphold freedom!”.

What does freedom mean for each individual? A large open-air installation on November 8 - 9, 2024, attempts to answer precisely this question. People in Berlin and many other places were asked about this. Thousands painted, sprayed, and stuck their thoughts on signs and posters.

“On November 8 and 9, these voices for democracy and freedom can be seen alongside replicas of banners from back then - a unique open-air installation marks the former course of the Wall from Invalidenstraße past Checkpoint Charlie to Axel-Springer-Straße. This weekend, the kilometer-long route will be transformed into a huge course with many exciting events.”

Further information regarding the event can be found on the website 35 Years of the Fall of the Wall.

Photo: Kulturprojekte Berlin / Harf-Zimmermann