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Written by Robert Hodgson
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Friday, 20 November 2009 |
Germany celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall with spectacular celebrations in the capital, and constant rain did little to dampen the spirits of those who came to watch the speeches, concerts and gigantic dominoes decorated by children from around the world toppling towards the Brandenburg Gate.
First steps
Hungary’s last communist leader, Miklós Németh, attended the ceremony. Németh is regarded as one of the key players in the dismantling of the communist system that held sway over Central Europe for four decades. It was he who, in September 1989, opened Hungary’s border to Austria, allowing thousands of refugees from communist East Germany to flee to the west. “I want to thank the many, many people, as well as opposition parties, civil organisations and churches, for their contribution back then,” Nemeth said.
He was joined by Lech Walesa, the Polish shipworker who led the Solidarity union that played a large part in ending the communist regime in his country. Together they pushed over the first domino in a symbolic reconstruction of the wall. Many today, especially in Germany, hold that it was they who knocked down the first dominoes in 1989 that led to the end of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.
Challenges now: Bajnai
Hungary’s present PM Gordon Bajnai was also in Berlin last week. He said that Hungary’s role at the time made it one of the “heroes of the moment” in 1989. He added that Hungary’s EU membership represented the fulfilment of hopes harboured by many reformists at the time. He noted, however, that Europe is once again facing hard times. He commented that, although both Germany and Hungary have extremist elements in their societies, the democratic core is large and strong enough to stand up to them. Bajnai said he hoped that in this time of economic crisis, the EU would show Hungary the solidarity that Hungary showed to East Germans twenty years ago.
Demszky’s role
Mayor of Budapest Gábor Demszky was also in Berlin for the festivities. “For us, the fall of the Wall and the proclamation of the Republic of Hungary were two important dates in the bringing along of European freedom and the right to self-government,” he said. Demszky was a key player in Hungary’s intellectual dissident movement in the late eighties, eventually helping to found the Alliance of Free Democrats.
At the end of the celebrations, all the heads of state present joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, in walking through the Brandenburg Gate from the old East to the West. Conspicuous by his absence was President Barack Obama, who sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to represent the United States.
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