Friday, November 06, 2009

More Berlin Wall . . .

Photograph by Dr. Friedhelm Pedde, 1989

In the photograph above, excited West Berliners congregate at and climb onto the Berlin Wall in November of 1989. Days or weeks earlier, this would have been extremely dangerous. Enforcement of prohibition of travel between East and West Berlin stopped November 9, 1989. To read all about it, click on the link below for an article written by my cousin Dr. Friedhelm Pedde, an archeologist in Berlin who witnessed the events first hand as they unfolded.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall - by Dr. Friedhelm Pedde
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2 comments:

  1. migauserWed Dec 23, 04:18:00 pm GMT-5

    Thks for sharing that Mr Pedde, it was very interesting.

    I think their are also some photos on the web showing Berlin before the wall came down, and how it looks today.

    Do you think that east Germany will ever recover, even here in england, east germans (Ozi's) have a bad reputation for being slackers?

    Merry christmas and happy new year mr Pedde.

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  2. The AtavistThu Dec 24, 08:15:00 am GMT-5

    Thanks, migauser, for your input. I have heard some Germans comment on how the erstwhile East Germans are 'slackers' as you put it, and I'm sure that is true to some extent. In any society in which initiative and hard work aren't rewarded and 'slackers' get the same pay and the same benefit as everyone else, the result will be obvious. Everyone will perform to the lowest permissible standard. In such a system, there is no reason to excel at anything. I have met immigrants from Russia in Canada who are like that.

    I have also met Russians in Canada who are hard-working, conscientious and who have a strong entrepreneurial spirit.
    Individuals with initiative and pride generally rise above the mediocre when they realize that they can do something that they can both be proud of AND be amply rewarded for it. Others never get the hang of that and whine that it isn't fair that some individuals get rewarded more than others.

    You too have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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