The Berlin Wall: An enduring memory of a dark period

• Source: Global Times
• [03:45 November 09 2009]
• Comments

Checkpoint on Invaliden Street in Berlin, on November 10, 1989

By Qing Mu in Berlin and Wang Wei in Cambridge

"The wall was a monster; victims, suffering, blockade ... obscene, ugly, hateful..."

"The wall was not only ugly, it was something people could not believe that our regime was able to set up."

"It had an air of unreality; you knew it was abnormal, you knew it couldn't remain forever."

These people, seemingly middle-aged and speaking English with heavy German accents, are referring to the Berlin Wall at the beginning of a short video made by guardian.co.uk.

Today, November 9, marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the most enduring and concrete symbols of the Cold War.

Western leaders are also set to reunite to celebrate what they called a victory of the "free world," but even the perception of the fall of the Berlin Wall is quite different to different people. November 9 can only mean one thing to Germans.