Special show at the German Embassy on October 03
By TN Ashok / Diplomatic Editor
New Delhi, October 01: Even as India was gearing up for a swaach bharat tomorrow, Germany was gearing up for another historic event – the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall that led to the reunification of East Germany with West Germany.
The landmark event is being re-created and observed through a special presentation by the German Embassy in Delhi on Friday October 03. A select group of the media was given a sneak peek of the presentation as well as shown special exhibits that would be on display during the event.
German Ambassador in India, Mr Michael Steiner, said the fall of the wall led not only to the reunification of Berlin, but Germany at large and Europe. It was an event that changed the world, as we knew it. “The iron curtain that cut Europe into two pieces, opened up on November 09 1989 in Berlin where it had shown its ugliest face. People had died trying to cross this symbol of inhumanity- they were killed only because they were striving to live in freedom”, he told newsmen.
Steiner recalled his days at the German embassy in Prague in the then Czechoslovakia when the wall came crumbling down in the autumn of 1989. He was spokesperson of the embassy there then. “Thousands of East German refugees were crowding together on our small premises under the most difficult conditions for weeks. They knew there was no way back, once they had climbed over the fence. But their desire for freedom was stronger than their fear of the uncertain”, he said.
On 30th September 1989, their dreams came true. “I stood a few steps behind our Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich Genscher on the balcony of the Prague embassy when he delivered to them the desired message of freedom”, he recalled.
Since then, 25 years have passed. I remember these days as some of the happiest for my country and me personally. I am happy that, in the meantime, a generation of young Germans has had the chance to grow up in a unified Germany, the ambassador said.
[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ysqyP0X6Qk[/embedyt]
Recalling a personal incident, Steiner said he helped a GDR citizen Fleischman to come down the fence. On October 02, this incident took place at the German embassy in Prague. Fleischman first threw his bag over the fence and started climbing up, police tried to stop him, somewhere nearby teargas was used. The police then noticed the arrival of the press attaché Steiner on the scene. Steiner talked to Fleischman and gave him a hand to come down. This event is still available on security cameras.
20 years later, Steiner met with Fleischman and the latter was overwhelmed by memories. Fleischman recalled “”Without this man (Steiner), I probably would have ended up in Jail….. My life would be very different now. Fleischman now lives in Berlin.
The German embassy has put on display a replica of the famous German TV tower , measuring nearly 12 metres against the iconic tower that stands over 300 metres in Berlin. ON display is the iconic Mercedes extended limousine of 500 class (500 liters or 5000 cc) that was made by the famous West German automaker in the year 1989 when the Berlin wall fell. Very few people have this land mark car with them in their stable of automobiles.