Posted by
Defend America on Monday, November 09, 2009 9:48:19 PM
Remembering the Wall [Hans A. von Spakovsky]
Not
too long after the Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989, my wife and I
visited Berlin. Crossing into what had been East Germany was like going
through a time tunnel. It looked like it was still the 1940s. Through
its physical environment, East Germany highlighted the difference
between Western freedom and Communism. This difference was even more
evident in Berlin. What struck me was the complete absence of color in
what had been the Eastern Zone, which said quite a lot about the
quality of life under communism.
West Berlin was full of
bright colors, from shop windows and pennants flying on buildings, to
the clothes worn by Berliners on the street. All of the buildings in
East Berlin were gray and dirty. Some were still unoccupied and had
bullet holes; they had never been repaired or renovated after the end
of World War II. West Berlin was full of bright, sparkling vistas and
shops filled with consumer goods of all kinds. East Berlin was dark and
dingy. The few shops were empty of the everyday necessities and
luxuries that give us the quality of life we enjoy. All of the
differences between the liberty and prosperity of the free West and the
prison conditions and poverty that characterized life behind the Iron
Curtain were easy to see.
Even driving to West Berlin in our
rental car was quite an experience. We were surrounded by Trabants —
East Germany’s version of the Volkswagen, and one of the worst cars
ever made (it sounded like a sewing machine). At that time, there were
still only three highways leading into what had been East Germany.
Close to the former border, a huge traffic jam on the autobahn brought
the traffic to a stop. We got off the highway hoping that a secondary
road would be a way around, but we ran into a major problem — the road
ended when it got to the old border.
All of the roads ended,
except for those three major highways, because of the barbed wire and
minefields that had divided Germany for more than 40 years.
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