"Thousands of Berliners are still making their way to the Brandenburg Gate on Boxing Day. It's a sunny, frost-free day. I'm out and about with my brother. We want to go over to East Berlin via the border crossing on Invalidenstraße. Because of the nice weather we take a little detour to the Brandenburg Gate. In the middle of the crowd I spot a small cardboard sign saying 'In memoria fratilor romani. Pane + libertate.' In memory of our Romanian Brothers. Peace and Freedom. While thousands of Berliners celebrate the peaceful revolution and fall of the Wall at the Brandenburg Gate, a small sign placed not more than a hundred metres away from the dividing landmark reminds us of the nearly 1000 people killed at the hands of the Ceausescu regime in Romania. It's a quiet day. No bawling, no loud rejoicing. People stand still and reflect here.
A few minutes later we're standing in front of the border crossing in Invalidenstraße. The barriers are up. I pull out my passport nervously. I haven't set foot on East Berlin soil for nearly five years (there's a note in my Stasi file, which I was able to inspect in 1992, saying that I had no right of entry until 31.12.1999). My brother calls out to me to follow him. We pass the border patrol hut. A tired border guard stands inside and waves me past. I don't need to do anything; don't need to show any ID, to answer any questions about firearms and ammunition, to open any bags. Now I know for sure that the GDR will soon cease to exist. A country has relinquished its sovereignty - which after all, starts at its borders.
I visit my relatives in East Berlin for the first time in five years. There, I also see my aunt from Basdorf who had predicted that the GDR would go to the dogs back in 1987 already."
Detlef Bahr (West Berlin)
