Berlin Wall

This year is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. On television, on the night of 9 November 1989, an East German government spokesman announced that East German citizens would be allowed into West Germany via the border crossings effective immediately. He didn't realise that it wasn't supposed to come into effect until the next morning. Neither did the crowds of people who flocked across the border. That was the popular start of the German reunification process. This year there is a special celebration ceremony in Berlin commemorating that occasion.

Claudia Lux, the Director General Central and Regional Library of Berlin, was in New Zealand for the national library conference this year. She told several tales of what it was like during that time. One was about library staff in East Germany who volunteered to stay in their library on the first day. Noone came to visit them. By contrast the lines for the librayr in West Germany were very long. Some of the people were carrying books which they had taken out from the library before the borders closed (over 25 years previously). They had carefully looked after them and were now returning the books to the correct branch.

There are a few items in Rodney Libraries about the Berlin Wall which is a good place to start if you want to know more about this fascinting era of German history. Alternatively you could go along to Novemberkinder the German Film Festival New Zealand put on by the Goethe Institue. The Auckland dates are 11-18 November.