It was certainly a cold day, but it wasn’t the temperature that sent me shivers up my spine. A feeling of grieve invaded me every time I contemplated the standing wall that separated the Two Germanies. However, on the 9th of November 1989, it came to an end.
When the German Communist Government held a press conference, no one expected that just four hours later, crowds of people would pass the frontier that had separated families for 28 years. When asked about the implementation of the law, Schabowki’s answer was a simple, yet powerful “Now”. From that moment on, all I could feel was an unprecedented sense of freedom. An overwhelming amount of people – 20000 citizens – crossed the wall in less than an hour. I still remember looking at my mother’s glowing eyes, despite hearing people say that a police car could arrest us at any time. Still, we crossed it, and when I got there, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
She was wearing a coat and a hat that covered everything but her lachrymose eyes. She gave me an effulgent hug, and I suddenly felt a sense of connection to the woman who happened to be my grandmother. I smiled at her and we started to talk ceaselessly. I remember I didn’t sleep that night, because there was too much to take in. I was afraid that I would close my eyes and I would wake up to find it hadn’t been real.
The next morning, the Cold War ended. I kept thinking about the amount of people that had died throughout these 28 years, trying to do what I had done. It was undoubtedly a turning point in my life that made me appreciate freedom, and which was more important, my family.
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