Kai Wegner (l-r, CDU), Governing Mayor of Berlin, Marianne Birthler, former Federal Commissioner for the Records of the State Security Service of the former GDR, and Axel Klausmeier, Director of the Berlin Wall Foundation, attend a press conference on the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Wall on 9 November.
© dpa
Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) has called for the fall of the Berlin Wall to be seen as more than just a historical event.
"I think 9 November 89 shows once again that the will to freedom can never be imprisoned," Wegner said on Monday at the presentation of the cultural programme for the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"This is a message that emanates from November 9, 89 here in Berlin that honestly couldn't be more relevant: The point has come again where we must take to the streets for freedom, for democracy, for human rights." The protest movement in the GDR cannot be compared with the demonstrations that are necessary today. "Today, people are allowed to demonstrate. In the past, people took great risks," said Wegner. "But the current situation shows how important 9 November is for the future of our country, how important democracy and freedom are."
Historical and current banners and posters are to be displayed along the former strip of the Wall as part of a kilometre-long installation to mark the anniversary in November. "We want to bring these moods, these slogans from back then back onto the streets," said Simone Leimbach from Kulturprojekte Berlin, who is organising the installation project. Contemporary witnesses are invited to send in their posters from back then from April. These could be originals or copies made from memory.
However, political demands from the present day should also have their place in the poster exhibition. "A few weeks ago, these large demonstrations impressively showed that this form of expression with banners, creative posters and banners is firmly anchored in our democracy today," said Leimbach, making a current reference. Accordingly, Berliners were also invited to "expand the presentation together with their contributions and voices of today". Critical and contradictory voices should be heard and brought together. Berlin's mayor added that "nothing that questions democracy" should be displayed on these posters.
Wegner said of November 9, 1989 that he could still remember the incredible atmosphere of change very clearly. "I sensed at the time that it was actually madness. There was also fear. And yet everyone joined in because everyone had the will and the belief that this wall, this unnatural division, would finally come to an end." "This spirit of optimism is something I would sometimes like to see for our country and for our city, especially in difficult times," said the Governing Mayor. "Perhaps we can achieve this if we keep celebrating 9 November as the day it is: a lucky day in our history, but also a day on which freedom became possible throughout Berlin."