“From Mid-September, political and personal events proceeded at breakneck speed, from what we see today as surreal simultaneity of everyday normalities of pubescent children, who we were all still. C. split up with P., R. fell in love with M. and I went for A., who preferred K. Sometimes we were sick and vulnerable to lovesickness and world weariness, then again in a frenzy of invincibility. No chance to put everything in the right timeline: At school, volunteers were sought and found for the trip to Berlin for the '40 years GDR ceremony '. At that time, to volunteer there was almost seen as an act of revolt in our class. I did not go to Berlin, but handed in my FDJ ID at some point at that time, but I also did not go to the main station on April 3rd/4th October to cheer the passing trains from Prague to West Germany. But friends from my class were there, or their parents? As is known, the situation escalated, there were arrests and many injured demonstrators and police officers. Which of course was not to be learned from the news at that time. But due to the reports and fears of police officer daughters and theatre children in my class the next morning, whose parents were facing each other at night, we were there without being there. At the time, I don't think anyone was taking side. You couldn't discuss these legitimate fears either. Both the police officer daughter and the theatre children were my friends.
Nevertheless then there was my first demonstration on October 7th, starting with candles after a prayer in the Kreuzkirche. Quarrel with my parents about it, especially with my father, who said I was going against him with it. On October 8th there was again a demonstration. I remember the mood already being shriller and more aggressive. Then the ‘group of the 20‘ emerged. The 'We are the people' demonstrations became the main occupation. A new era began in school, the vocabulary changed. 'Abuse of power', 'dialogue' and 'maturity' became important words. The time of resolutions began. I got to know exciting people at the demos, new friendships were formed and made myself a founding member of the Young Social Democrats of the GDR four months later, until again four months later, after a federal congress with the West Young Socialists, I left the Party quite disillusioned. In between there was a class trip on which we watched the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig together, at that time already on television.
The actual opening of the wall on November 9th I experienced unspectacularly, almost as it was in fact. I didn’t witness the famous press conference with Schabowski and handing out the flyers. I heard about the opening of the wall on the radio news on the evening of November 9th, sitting in my prefabricated children's room (I was probably doing my homework), and I remember this message being presented as dryly as all the news, and especially in the GDR.
I only noticed it correctly and took it seriously after repeating it three or four times. I then went to Berlin somewhat simultaneously, whether on the first or second weekend afterwards (November 9th was a Thursday and I still had normal school) and with whom I don't remember. But I remember my horror at my fellow travellers on the train to Berlin. People were shoving, jostling and scolding because they wanted to get on the train to the West. A baby squeezed through a narrow train window is a picture that has stuck. Somehow I managed to come to Berlin, even if in shock. There, like all the others, I picked up the welcome money, went to the Ku'damm, gawked into the shop windows, being completely overwhelmed and after queuing at a candy stand for a long time, I invested at least 30 DM in gummy bears (filled in bags and paid by weight) and then completely annoyed I went home. Up to a visit to Hamburg with 'West Connection' at the Young Socialists there, months later, I felt no need to put this first impression of the West into perspective.
