Communist Culture Shock at the Wall

I was 11 or 12 and living in West Germany as a US military brat. It was late 1988 or mid-1989. My family and I traveled to Berlin. West Berlin that is. We I was 11 or 12 and living in West Germany as a US military brat. It was late 1988 or mid-1989. My family and I traveled to Berlin. West Berlin that is. We of course visited the Wall. We were at Checkpoint Charlie looking past the graffiti into the grey concrete of the East and deciding whether or not to take a day trip into communist East Berlin.

A couple of hundred yards away from us, inside East Berlin, was a landscaper pruning and hedging the bushes and such alongside the road. Standing five or so yards behind him was an East German in what looked like a military uniform carrying what I guess was an AK-47.

Like I said, I was only 11 or 12. I grew up in the Cold War and my dad was in the US military. I had already traveled to many different places and understood that people lived differently everywhere. But this was a stark moment for me. I understood immediately that the man in the uniform was not there to protect the landscaper but to shoot him in the back if he ran to West Berlin for freedom.

I understood at that moment what the difference between the Germany’s was. Why people spoke with fear of the Soviets. I’ve grown up a lot since then, learned on my own about history, economics, and politics. I understand that a lot of what I was taught during those days was basically propaganda. I accept that my country has many, many fundamental flaws.