Picture that: it’s only been 20 years since the Berlin wall fell
For its twentieth anniversary Europe will euphorically celebrate the fall of a wall that didn’t just split Berlin in two, but an entire continent. At 6:57 pm on 9 November, the GDR’s Politbüro member Günter Schabowski announced that from now, east German citizens could travel freely. Hours later, Berliners were hugging each other from the east to the west. Another 20 years later, and the eurogeneration have made their motto out of this freedom of movement - eastern working girls invade Europe’s labour market, symbolic walls come to a fall in Paris, or exist in people’s heads. Does the spoiled post-89 generation know how lucky they are? Perspectives
20th anniversary: go and see the 'Berlin wall' be destroyed in Paris
On 9 November 2009 there will be a lot of commemoration services to celebrate the Berlin wall coming down 20 years ago. Two ‘euro-enthusiast’ associations in Paris are organising a ‘destroy party’ on the big day itself. What’s the concept? A wall made of foam, some pickaxes and some good wine
Jean-Christophe Bas: 'the erasmus generation doesn’t know how lucky it is'
Finally, on 9 November 1989, there was peace. Young Europeans born after this historic day did experience the war. But what does the construction of Europe mean to them? In his book L’Europe à la carte, Jean-Christophe Bas calls upon the spoiled children of the eurogeneration’s in order to create a less self-centred Europe.
politics, european institutions, second world war , eurogeneration, youth, society, european constitution, lisbon treaty, enlargement, cold war, iron curtain, berlin wall
9/11 - the fateful day of German history
From the revolution to the reunification, from Hitler’s putsch until Kristallnacht: November 9 marks the German history of the twentieth century
hitler, jews, cold war, iron curtain, berlin wall, history, culture, national socialism, berlin
Czech internet forums, KSCM: disillusionment and nostalgia for communist past
Two decades ago, the Czechs were clinking their keys to bring down the communist regime. Today, the communist party is winning some support back as some claim they they lived better under communism. Others allege that the same people hold power and that totalitarian practices persist. We scour three major Czech news website forums to weigh up the tone of the people
media, european media, politics, reunification, eurogeneration, iron curtain, berlin wall
What communism means to three central and eastern European women
Twenty years since the fall of the Berlin wall, what does communism mean to Cecilia, 22, from Bulgaria, Katharina, 20, from Slovakia and Anna, 28, from the Czech Republic?
employment, schengen, feminism, emancipation, past enlargements, communism, students, schengen zone, job seekers, enlargement, cold war, iron curtain, berlin wall, berlin
Twenty years on: why Berlin is not Germany
The city buzzes with cultural events to commemorate the reunification of Berlin and the European continent. But how do the protagonists of the change view each other - whether they are born after 1990, are pre-1990 migrants or modern-day visitors?
