GAPP February 22, 2011 Tuesday (Dienstag)

It snowed here in Lansdale, USA and we had a 2-hour school delay - more time to practice our German! Today I want to discuss more of the Berlin Wall.

Construction began on the Berlin Wall early in the morning of Sunday, August 13, 1961. It was a desperate - and effective - move by the GDR (German Democratic Republic) to stop East Berliners escaping from the Soviet-controlled East German state into the West of the city, which was then occupied by the Americans, British and French.

The version of the "Wall" was in fact not a wall but a 96-mile barbed wired fence. Later in the '80's as the Iron Curtain cracked - the fall of the wall looked inevitable. In the evening of November 9th, 1989 Gunter Schabowski, Minister of Propoganda read a note announcing that the border would be opened for "private trips abroad".

The days that followed saw chaotic celebrations as Germany celebrated the political fall of the wall. These events were the first steps to the reunification of Germany which was formally concluded on October 3rd, 1990. Today remnants of the Berlin Wall can be found at Bernauer Strasse and in the front of the Neiderkirchnerstrasse, the former Prussia Parliament and current Berlin Parliament.

CURRENCY: 1 Euro = $ 1.36 and $1.00 = 17.97 Czech Koruna

WEATHER: 21 degrees F or -6 degrees C

TIME: 6:55 pm (6 hours ahead of our Eastern time)

COUNTDOWN: 3 days (drei tage)
[RN]