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On November 9, 2009, Berlin will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Over one thousand 8-foot high tiles will be stacked along the route the wall followed, and, with much fanfare, they will be toppled like dominoes.

Daniel Barenboim will conduct the Berlin Philharmonic in a special concert, as one of many celebrations that will mark the event in Germany and around the world.

Commemorations began last week in the US with a visit from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who spoke before an historic joint session of Congress on Tuesday, November 3, the first German leader to do so since Konrad Adenauer in 1957.

See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/world/europe/06merkel.html for Merkel’s remembrances of the night the wall came down.

On the 9th, Merkel, Mikhail Gorbachev and Lech Walesa will walk together to the Bornholmer Bridge, where the first crossing was made. Their gesture will be purely symbolic, but the anniversary would be unthinkable without it, according to http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/a-bridge-opened-ndash-and-then-the-wall-fell-1817277.html

France will mark the occasion with an open-air concert and laser show held on the Place de la Concorde. According to The New York Times, the concert features prominent cellists from each of the European Union’s 27 member nations in a piece inspired by a musical tribute given at Checkpoint Charlie two days after its fall by cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.

See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/europe/04parisberlin.html?ref=europe for more information.

Through a program called Maurreise, or Journey of the Wall, symbolic wall bricks have been sent to artists in Korea, Cyprus, Yemen, among other divided countries. Artists have been asked to incorporate these bricks into works expressing the pain of people separated by impenetrable borders.
Here's a link to the German Embassy in Washington DC, containing updates on No Man's Land, comments by German citizens who lived through the event, and much more:
http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/10__Press__Facts/03__Infocus/04__Without__Walls/__Main__S.html

Also, see Arts and Letters Daily (www.aldaily.com) for a robust list of events, and a varied collection of rememberances.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall, Part 3: Overview of the Wall 11/07/2009

The 87-mile-long Berliner Mauer, or Berlin Wall, was erected by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), part of the Eastern Bloc of the USSR, purportedly as an “anti-fascist protective rampart.”

Completely surrounding West Berlin, the wall effectively sealed off a section of Germany’s largest and most important city from the rest of East Germany, making it an island trapped in a country that did not govern it. Home to 2 million people, West Berlin was affiliated with—geographically, historically, ethnically and linguistically—but not legally a part of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). As a result of post-war partitioning, it was essentially a city without a country.

Collectively, the Berlin Wall and the larger border between east and west were called The Iron Curtain (in the west, at least), because they symbolized the fiercely guarded border between the democratic Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc nations associated with the USSR.

Immediately after World War II, millions of people emigrated from Soviet-occupied Eastern European countries to the West. By 1950, the Soviets imposed restrictions, trying reduce the number of young educated professionals leaving for opportunities in West Germany, France and beyond. Nearly 20% of East Germany’s population took part in that migration, many from the eastern to the western sectors of the partitioned city of Berlin. To stem the human tide, they put up fences and by 1961, the fences had been turned into concrete walls.

Once the Berlin Wall and the fortified borders went up, emigration stopped and didn’t start again for almost 30 years.

Here is how Wikipedia describes the Berlin Wall:
The Wall included guard towers lining large concrete walls circumscribing a wide area containing anti-vehicle trenches, “fakir beds” and other defenses.

In June 1962, a second, parallel fence some 100 meters (110 yards) farther into East German territory was built. The houses contained between the fences were razed and the inhabitants relocated, establishing an area called No Man’s Land, later known as The Death Strip. The Death Strip was covered with raked gravel, easily disturbed by footprints. Guards could spot someone running the wide, open space, and had a clear shot at anyone they saw.

No Man's Land was paved when I saw it.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall, Part 4: Building the Wall 11/07/2009

The Fall of the Berlin Wall, Part 5: Crossings and Escapes 11/07/2009

From 1961 to 1989, eight border crossings connected East and West Berlin, allowing Westerners into East Berlin, but very few Easterners into West Berlin. A visit on the other side required an application for a visa, with several weeks lead time, as well as a preparation fee and money left at the crossing site, as a kind of escrow.

Perhaps Berlin’s most famous border crossing was the vehicle and pedestrian gate known as Checkpoint Charlie. That site, near the intersection of Friedrichstrasse and Zimmerstrasse, was often depicted in literature and film, especially thrillers and spy stories.

Over the course of 29 years, about 5,000 people made it across the wall, from east to west. The number of those who died trying is disputed, but thought to be between 89 and 200. There is a small, rather primitive memorial site on what was once the west side of the wall, honoring people who lost their lives trying to escape East Berlin.

Early on, when the border was made of barbed wire and other fencing, people cut through or leapt from apartment windows into the West. To prevent this, East German authorities bricked up windows in buildings near the border.

Still, people found ways to escape. They built tunnels, installed false seats in cars, even concocted hot air balloons to take them west. Some even escaped through the sewer system that ran below streets on both sides of the wall.

The last person who didn't make it over the Berlin Wall was shot on February 2, 1989, adding to the clamor to bring it down later that year.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall, Part 6: The US Weighs In 11/07/2009

On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, reassuring residents that the US had not forgotten them, in a speech that included the memorable line, “Ich bin ein Berliner!” (True, the correct way to say "I am a citizen of Berlin" is "Ich bin Berline." Machs nicht. Everyone knew what he meant and the crowd went wild.)

Twenty-six years later, at a ceremony commemorating the 750th anniversary of the founding of the City of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, within earshot of guards posted at the gate and along the wall:

“If you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

The Fall of the Berlin Wall, Part 7: Die Offnung (eyewitness video on page 2) 11/07/2009

Here's a chronology of events leading to the actual collapse of the wall dividing east from west:

1980-89---Solidarity, a non-communist-controlled trade union, gains strength in Poland, elects Lech Walesa president and pushes for free elections.

Spring 1989—The world holds its collective breath as it watches students defy tanks in Tiananmen Square. A sprit of revolt against repression is in the air.

At the same time, Protestant churches throughout East Germany use weekly prayer meetings to press for change, and prepare for peaceful demonstrations that could be mobilized quickly, when circumstances allowed. By October, they were ready. Some say the Lutheran church was East Germany’s Solidarity Party. For more on this topic, see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6906779.ece

August 19, 1989---A young Hungarian border guard defies orders and allows a group of East German tourists to cross into Austria.

See http://www.expatica.com/de/life-in-germany/news_focus/Looking-back_-Remember-the-fall-of-the-Berlin-Wall_14767.html for a recent interview with that courageous guard.

Late August, 1989--- A Solidarity-led coalition government is elected in Poland.

September, 1989—Thousands more East Germans flee to Austria, by way of Hungary. Fearing mass defection, East German authorities demand their citizens return to Budapest, then to East Germany, immediately. Instead, thousands flood the West German embassy in Austria, seeking asylum.

East Germany quickly stops travel to Hungary, ordering tourists already there to return home. East Germans visiting Czechoslavakia are told to return home, as well. Many refuse.

Mass demonstrations erupt across East Germany.

October 18---Erich Honecker resigns as chancellor of East Germany. Protests grow louder and larger.

West Germany accepts those seeking asylum. Thousands more stream through Czechoslovakia, hoping to get to the West.

The Czech government does not force East Germans to return. Chaos erupts all over Eastern Europe.

November 4—A million people gather in East Berlin’s Alexanderplatz chanting “Wir wollen raus!” or “We want out!”

November 9----Hoping to stem some of the unrest, the newly appointed East German leader agrees to loosen travel restrictions, including travel between East and West Berlin, beginning November 17. He directs Party Secretary for Propaganda Günter Schabowski to make the announcement.

Click on Read More to see what happened next, according to New York Times reporter Alison Smale, who was in East Berlin on that historic day:

Health care reform begins at home 11/05/2009

from today's The Greenfield (MA) Recorder:

A role in better health
Reforms go beyond cost and care

We’ve heard how health-care reform will or will not work, what it will or will not cost and how it will or will not impact us as individuals. We’ve also heard from people who sincerely believe we should simply leave it alone.

But, few talk about whether reform will improve health, particularly public health.

Considering how much we spend on health insurance, gyms, organic food and vitamins, we should be a very healthy nation. Apparently, there’s room for improvement:

1. We have the highest rate of preventable deaths among (19) industrialized nations.

2. We came in 37th on the World Health Report 2000 for overall health.

3. More than half of U.S. adults are overweight.

4. Almost 2 million a year die in the U.S. from chronic, treatable diseases.

According to Assistant Secretary for Health Howard K. Koh, all five health-care reform bills before Congress contain components that “absolutely” will improve those numbers. Koh was Massachusetts health commissioner from 1997-2003. Today he is America’s top doc, overseeing the U.S. Public Health Service, the CDC, Surgeon General’s office and many related agencies.

Reform will bring quality, affordable care to most Americans, with the operative term “affordable,” since everyone will pay toward their care.

Right now, millions of Americans cannot get coverage at any cost and 14,000 more lose their insurance every day, Koh said in a recent interview. “When Americans go without health insurance, they suffer,” he added.

According to Koh, one in six Americans with employer- sponsored insurance coverage in 2006 lost it by 2008, leaving many children and adults without preventive care, immunizations, basic dental services and prescription medicine. “When sick, (the uninsured) are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes” than the insured.

Insured or not, low-income Americans — including racial and ethnic minorities as well as people living in rural areas — are less likely to receive preventive care than others.

“We are the only advanced democracy that allows this hardship on millions of its people,” according to Koh.

Once insured under reform, there will be little financial reason for anyone to go without basic health care. We will be leveling the field, reducing health disparities, in terms of access to care.

As shocking as it may seem, with reform, millions will have the opportunity to see primary-care physicians — and even dentists — for the first time. Children and adults who previously saw doctors only in emergency rooms will be screened for and, if necessary, treated for chronic diseases. And, they will be called back for check-ups.

“We’re developing a wellness care system that protects health, promotes healthy behaviors and strengthens community prevention,” Koh said.

“A national report recently found that 100,000 lives could be saved each year by investing in five basic preventive services that are available through a doctor’s office,” Koh said. “We can’t eliminate all disease, but … we can reduce chronic disease by ensuring Americans have the care they need to prevent and treat these diseases so that if they do get sick and need care, they have the best possible chance of getting better.”

To accomplish this, the 2009 Recovery Act already has pumped millions into the health-care infrastructure to build work force. Reform measures will expand on that base. Big investments in medical training should boost resources in underserved areas — such as rural New England — which otherwise might not attract enough health-care workers to make reform work.

Of course, reform really begins with each one of us. Whether health-care reform succeeds or fails, individuals will share some responsibility with physicians, hospitals and drug companies.

It won’t be painless, or easy. There are no quick fixes. And, no one will chase us around to “make us” healthy.

If we haven’t already done so, we should start to build our own healthy lives based on knowledge, responsibility and respect. It’s time to make healthy choices, as in “yes” to salads, “no” to cigarettes and binge drinking, etc. We must vaccinate our kids, encourage loved ones to exercise, make sure our young people get enough sleep and our elders are seen by doctors when they need to. We should wash our hands, flu season or not. If sick, stay out of the workplace.

In other words, we need to get our collective act together to start taking proactive responsibility for our health, because the Band-Aid approach to health care is coming to a very expensive end.

But, whatever it takes should be worth the effort, making a big difference in the lives of our children and grandchildren, by making a big difference in public health.

When it comes to closing the gap on health disparities, Koh said, “we should remember that this isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a moral issue.”

_____________________
Greenfield resident Paula Hartman Cohen writes about health care and other issues for The Recorder publications, Harvard Public Health Review, Dartmouth Medicine Magazine, and KevinMD.com, among other media. She blogs at www.birdsonawireblog.com.

Amazing Stories: What am I doing here? Well, first I ... 11/03/2009

Now, for something completely different! I figure we all can use a good laugh.

Here’s a commercial for the French television show, Canal+, en français. Amusez-vous!

Preview of upcoming special sections 11/03/2009

I may be a bit short on blog items in the next few days, but that’s because I’m putting together two special sections to post over the next two weeks.

Continuing to look backward in order to make sense of where we are and where we’re going, I will shift our focus to two watershed events that changed the course of our lives, and still resonate in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

First, the fall of the Soviet Union, as exemplified by the fall of the Berlin Wall.

November 9 is the 20th anniversary of the breach of the Wall, and I will be posting photos, memorabilia, comments from those who lived there before or after, as well as my own observations of East Germany during reunification efforts, based on a three-week visit. If you would like to contribute your own thoughts, photos, links, or whatever on the fall of the Wall, please send what you have to me now so I can include it in the mix.

Second, the 46th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

As many of us have done before, we’ll stop for a moment to recall where we were when we heard (or saw) the news, and how life changed afterward. The Birds blog has some people with close ties to this event among its readership, so don’t miss this collection of compelling comments beginning around November 15. Again, if you’d like to contribute, send your emails this week, please.