I was 12 and my mom was on hold to make an appointment with the dentist.  They didn’t have hold muzak that day - they had the news and she hung up in happy tears to tell us the wall was down.  It was my grandpa’s birthday too, so through that celebration we also had the tv on so we could watch the ongoing joy of the celebration in Berlin.  Definitely one of those things I will always remember; even at that age and through the distance of the tv, the jubilation was so evident!

I had just gotten engaged and started a new job…so this was just an extra bit of good news at the time.

Hard to forget, for me - I had just given birth to our first child .  Wasn’t paying too much attention to world events at the time but this one was hard to miss!

I was sitting on my sofa in Leominster, MA.  My husband and I sat in almost disbelief, but with thanksgiving.  I remember crying.  It was a relief to know that the suffering under communism that a part of my family had to endure was over.  They now had freedom.

God Blass Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and John Paul II!

I am writing this from Berlin, Germany, where my husband and I have been living with our four young kids for nearly three years.  It is indeed an exciting time to be in Berlin, and to be in Europe.  We had the chance last night to walk the length of a temporary wall which was made of styrofoam pieces decorated by local school children and business.  They were set up in “domino-line” fashion, and ealier this evening, were knocked down by Lech Walesa and others, to symbolically bring down the wall again. 

While the excitement of this day is palpable in the air, at the same time I implore your prayers for Berlin, for German, and for all of Europe.  We live over here in a largely godless word.  Faith is irrelevant, an annoying intruder to an otherwise “free” life.  We are so blessed that our pastor studied under then Fr. Ratzinger, and that they remain friends to this day.  He, his leadership, and his parish are small oases for the faithful in this town. 

There is indeed much to celebrate today, but how quickly everyone over here at least seems to have forgotten the role of righteousness in all of this, the role of faith, the role of God!  The world leaders—Christians all—who have typically been given credit for their influential role in bringing about the end of the Cold War—His Holiness Pope John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, to name a few—did not, I think, seek an end to the oppression of communism so people could enjoy a really great nightlife (a huge part of the culture over here).  We saw more images on the temporary domino-wall pieces of alternative lifestyles, pop cultural icons, and various other things we did not care to explain to our kids than we did of anything resembling faith, resembling the cause of truth, of the inviolable dignity of the human person.  Was the Cold War fought so people could become profoundly more self-indulgent, to marry less, contracept more, and radically reduce the population of Europe as a whole?  Was it fought so people could break free of the “chains” of religion to embrace a more “me-centered” worldview, to buy nicer cars, and take really great ski vacations?  I’m sorry to sound so cynical but living over here has been eye opening.  We’ve had a great time and we’ve seen and done a lot of amazing things, but it is really stunning to see the culture clashes—very broadly speaking, of course—between the U.S. and Europe.  Take marriage, take openness to life, take kids in general.  It’s all very sad really.  My husband’s co-workers just shake their heads in confusion over his suggestion that yes, both he and I do fully intent to stay married—to each other—for as long as we both shall live.  That we do think children are a blessing, even considering any and all sacrifices.  It’s as if they want to say to us, “wake up, you don’t have to live like that!”  It’s just so very sad.

As Berliners, Germans, and indeed all Europeans and persons throughout the world, celebrate this truly meaningful day, please pray that the values held dear by those who helped to bring about this great “fall” will not be forgotten.  Thanks for reading—sorry for the length…

I was a newly wed (5months) and 4 months along with our first baby. My family’s best news from the fall of the Berlin wall came years later-my brother met a girl from Dresden (formerly in East Germany) whom he later married and now they have 2 adorable boys.

I was 23 and 9 months pregnant with my second who was born on the 17th. I remember it happening only in a non-detailed way since I was so focused on my two little ones. A few years ago we saw a museum display on the berlin wall coming down and I commented to that daughter wow that happened the month you were born. Now I remember 911 in detail.

I was in sixth grade.  I don’t remember much about it, except that all the grown ups were very happy about it.  Our teacher had us do a weekly excercise, where each picked an article out of the paper, and then got up in front of the class to to talk about it—that week everyone chose an article about the wall coming down.  Reading everyones’ memories is bringing tears to my eyes.

I was doing a year-long graduate fellowship in Taiwan, so all of the momentous events of that year unfolded before me in Chinese!  I was one of three non-Chinese women (and two non-Asians) living in my dorm, and it was just amazing to watch the images on TV and read about them in the papers . . . it was one of those experiences that make the world seem smaller and more connected.  Now, the thing that really boggles my mind is that it was 20 years ago . . .

This is the day I mark as the day I grew up.  I was 18 and a college freshman.  I went into the dining facility and sat with friends who were “non-traditional” - they were only one school year ahead of me, but were 4 earth years older, and so were a bit more “of the world.”  They told me the Wall was coming down, and I couldn’t believe it.  Pressing them, they insisted, “People are DANCING on the wall!”

My entire life, the Cold War was the status quo.  I was too ignorant, narcisstic and self-absorbed to have had any warning that the world was about to change. 

A year later, I was studying abroad in Belgium when East and West Germany formally united their governments.  Several friends hopped a train to have a drink in a German bar just after midnight to celebrate.  The Germans there weren’t feeling very thrilled, and the following summer I got to witness their hostility to the changes that brought both East Germans over to “steal” jobs as well as Eastern Europeans.  I got to meet a man from East Germany who had never met an American and just loved to hear me talk in his language because it sounded so sweet.  And I got to go to Prague and Slovakia and see the stark contrast with how Eastern Europeans lived compared to the West.  I’m sure these places are all prettied up now, but then, the infrastructure was a mess.

Flash forward to 1993, and I was a senior doing laundry in my dorm and watching the news.  The World Trade Center had just been bombed and was the shocking news on CNN.  Some girls I didn’t know popped in to see who was watching TV and what was on, and when I told them what was happening, they watched for half a minute, shrugged and went about their day.  I guess they weren’t ready to handle the grown up world yet.

I was six years old and in my parents living room playing with my siblings. I remember some sort of celebration as well as a prayer of Thanksgiving led my my father. =)

In labor and delivery with Rachel, she delivered Amelia at 6:45 a.m., we watched all day