Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
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Before the Fall
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a dramatic moment in time. In the minds of many East Germans, it was years in the making.
Today, few remember the years of patient effort by dissidents and activists from Warsaw to Budapest that set the stage for that momentous night. Even in the German Democratic Republic (GDR)—commonly known as EastGermany—the beginning of the end happened not in the divided capital of Berlin but in lesser-known cities such as Leipzig, Dresden, and Plauen. In the tumultuous 20 years since the end of communism in Germany and Eastern Europe, the focus on the images of that single night has made it hard to recognize just how much work is necessary for a democracy movement tosucceed.
In East Germany, more than in almost any other country in the communist bloc, the events that became synonymous with the end of communism were the fruit of a protest movement that began years before with no hope of toppling the regime. There was no great symbolism or strategy. The movement’s greatest ambition was to force EastGermany—which became one of the communist bloc’s mosthardcore regimes after its founding in theSoviet-occupied zone of Germany in 1949—to live up to its own ideals. No one imagined bringing down the Communist Party, much less reunifyingGermany.
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Andrew Curry is a freelance writer based in Berlin. His work has appeared in Smithsonian, Wired, Foreign Policy, and elsewhere.
more from this author >>
The Seventies Shift
When Michael Barone began his career as a political observer, Los Angeles was like Des Moines by the sea and America was transfixed by the Vietnam war and the counterculture. Nobody saw the deeper forces that were beginning to transform the nation.Exit Lessons
The search is on for graceful strategies for exiting Iraq and Afghanistan. Apart from victory, history suggests, there are none.In the Beginning Was the Word
The book, that fusty old technology, seems rigid and passé as we daily consume a diet of information bytes and digital images. The fault, dear reader, lies not in our books but in ourselves.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and in no way represent the views or opinions of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. This section is moderated by Wilson Quarterly staff.
The force of moral resistance is more stonger than the might of an arsenal
Andrew Curry's used dictum:soft water can break the hardest stone is the forceful essence of this article, thereby providing a meaningful lesson to learn from history that it is the moral force that actually triumphs in the end.Given this thoughtful background, one may say that nothing can be achieved durably by dint of force or war what can be gained by means of negotiation or peace.
Posted by: Chumanist | 1/4/10
This is an ok article but is way too short!
Posted by: Eden Stancil | 4/15/10