By Uta Pippig
Dear Friends and Web site Visitors,
© Bundesarchiv/Klaus Lehnartz
Just a few hours and 20 years ago while night time turned to daylight from November 9 to November 10, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell peacefully. These were the finest hours in Germany’s history. Time travels fast, and many are too young to remember, but others will never forget the vivid exuberance and joy expressed by the Berliners from East and West, and by millions of people around the world, as thousands came together at The Wall. Those first hours, almost impossible to describe now, were—to our amazement—peaceful. They were filled with tears of relief, joy, and hope that spoke volumes about the fears and trepidation of a people living in a divided nation.
Many of you might remember the eventful days of November 1989 and the time leading up to it: the peaceful demonstrations which started in Leipzig—the Monday Demonstrations. They spread to Berlin and to many other East German cities. Then, surprisingly and wonderfully, they were followed by the exuberant day that finally saw the fall of The Wall and the turbulent yet exhilarating weeks afterwards. Germany’s joy was echoed around the world as people watched live on television and I am sure many of you still remember where you were when you first heard that The Wall was finally gone after 28 years, two months, and almost 28 days.
Checkpoint Invalidenstraβe after opening the border. Date: November 10, 1989. © Bundesarchiv/Klaus Lehnartz
When I heard the news I was in a training camp in Kienbaum, just 20K to the east of Berlin. On the eve of November 9, I was in medical school and studying for next day’s physics exam. I had the radio on low volume and listened to the news—there was something about an announcement at a press conference. Later I learned together with many of my countrymen that Günter Schabowski, a member of the “Politbüro” of the East German government, had given us East Germans the gift of a new travel rule—starting immediately, we could get permission for private travel to the West without special bureaucratic reason. ‘This can be true?’ I thought. I couldn’t wait to get up and head straight for Berlin the next morning. The physics department of the medical school of the Humboldt University was located in the Invalidenstraße, just a few hundred meters away from one of the border checkpoints into West Berlin. I watched countless people streaming from the East towards West Berlin! When I met my professor he told me that my fellow students had already left to go to the Wall. Our exam would take place, of course—but in a few more weeks. Today there were more important things to do, he said—it was to be a day of celebration! We sat down and talked for a long time about the exciting events of the past evening. About the possibilities. About the future. All our futures.
© Bundesarchiv/Heiko Specht
These are my fond and happy memories. The weeks after The Wall came down went by so quickly and so differently for each and every person. While many people enjoyed traveling freely for the first time and others reconnected with families long divided by The Wall, many runners enjoyed new trails into freedom. It was not just the running trails in the beautiful forests around Berlin that were suddenly accessible to us all, but also some great new races. As early as November 12, some East German runners participated in the traditional West Berliner cross country event. The Brandenburg Gate was opened shortly before Christmas, so on the morning of January 1, 1990 Berliners from East and West joined with runners from all over the world and ran in the New Year’s Run that was able to be routed for the first time through the Brandenburg Gate. Distance 6K: no times were recorded. It was a memorable and peaceful demonstration of running into freedom. Months later, at the end of September 1990—just a few days before Germany celebrated their day of the Reunification—25.000 runners participated in the Reunification Marathon in Berlin. Part of the concrete wall was still visible, but it didn’t deter us since the spirit of the runners was filled with happiness. To us and to the tens of thousands of spectators who lined the street, it was a dramatic symbol of how far Germany and the world had come that day.
Visit to Berlin in August … © private
This past summer I enjoyed the extraordinary events of the Track and Field World Championships in Berlin with my family and friends. One of the highlights was the marathon through the Brandenburg Gate. Of course, we visited the inner city of Berlin as well, and followed part of the path of the Berlin Wall. Most of it can’t be recognized but you feel it when you are walking the streets of both parts of the city—freely—across borders that were once so demoralizing and forbidding. It felt like the city was in a hurry to forget the time of The Wall and wanted to build the new Berlin so quickly. But come and look for yourself, visit this pulsing and young city with its outgoing, energetic, and wonderful people. Imagine the inspiration created by President John F. Kennedy when he famously announced in 1963 in front of the town hall in Schöneberg, “Ich bin ein Berliner.”—movingly expressing America’s solidarity with the people of Berlin. Come and experience how much the face of the city has changed since Kennedy’s moment of history and the fall of The Wall. You feel it when you visit the new museums, and enjoy the cafes and the many fantastic attractions of the city.
© Bundesarchiv/Klaus Lehnartz
And while we look forward and go on with our lives, many of us still, especially during this anniversary celebration, remember the lives of others—of those people who fought and protested openly for freedom and perhaps were punished for it. And although we may remember those unsettling events now, we eventually will forget, and we shall certainly forgive. Many of us lived differently in those days, weeks, and months after The Wall came down. Some were deeply relieved, some saddened by the loss of a loved one—and so many others just happy to see each other again after years of separation. To those among us who still struggle to make sense out of the confusion of those years and the challenges of the Reunification, we would like to give our care and support, and our helping hand.
During my last visit to Berlin I was running on my favorite trails in the forest in the east of town and in my thoughts I thanked all the wonderful people who made this peaceful Reunification possible: the quiet ones, the vociferous ones, the politicians, those who actually broke down the wall chunk by dusty chunk. But most of all my thoughts went to the people of the Monday Demonstrations in Leipzig who gave birth to it all by softly and potently pronouncing: We are one nation = Wir sind ein Volk!
On behalf of the entire Take The Magic Step® team, I am sending you heartfelt wishes for many inspiring runs in freedom!
Keep Running on peaceful trails!
Posted November 10, 2009 at 5:53 am EST
