By Fr. Hermogenes Emmanuel Bacareza, SVD

“The Berlin Wall will stand for a hundred years!” said Erich Honecker, President of East Germany, on a TV program I was watching one evening in July 1989. Yet on November 9 of that same year, a few minutes before midnight, his successor as head of state in East Germany, Egon Krenz, announced: “All citizens of East can go anywhere they want!” Next morning the newspapers printed in bold letters:”Die, Mauer funkioniert nicht mehr!” (The wall doesn’t function any longer!”) I could hardly believe it. It was just too good to be true.

Scenes to Remember
After my maps that morning, I went immediately to the Berlin Wall, considered for twenty years by Western Visitors as the wall shame and brutality. As I drew near I saw thousands of East Germans crowding the place. Some of them recognize me personally. We must come from East Berlin, Father! We came to the Wall, free” I learned later that immediately after Krenz made his announcement East Berliners bored giants holes through the Wall. A few hours later twenty two big openings had been made. The Berlin Wall tumbled down in humiliation.

Jubilation
There was Jubilation all around: shouting kissing, embracing, laughing, toasting of the occasion champagne. I sat near the Wall watching East and West Germans greet one another. I saw one German lady covering her face with her hands, crying with extreme joy, “I can hardly believe it! I’m free! My children are free!”

What Really Touched Me
It was not so much the unrestrained emotions of the East Berliners that touched me, but the heartening welcome of the West Berliners and their hospitality. At check point Charlie West German were standing by, hundreds or thousands of them with flowers in their hand, ready to welcome with open arms their lost sister and brothers from East Berlin. All the while they kept saying. “We are really happy that you are now coming to us and we hope that it will remain like this always.

Bunches of Flowers
Even young boys brought along bunch of flowers. They stuck them over the numberplates of cars as a sign of welcome. As they passed me by they called out, “The Wall is gone! The Wall is gone! Thanks be to God!”

 Bumper to Bumper
Hundreds of Trabbis (East German small cars) paraded bumper to bumper along the wide Kurfurstendam and the 17th of-June street. I counted nine rows moving like turtle through the Brandenburg Gate. Somebody said to me: “This is the most beautiful chaos in the world- this night in Berlin! It was a moving sight to see this little cars from East Berlin laden with flowers, garland and confetti, as if they were carrying newly married couple.

Baptized with Champagne
As soon the East Berliners alighted from theirs cars, a shower of roses greeted them. I saw a number of West Berliner bringing bottles of champagne to the scene. I asked one of them what he was doing to do with it. He said, “We going to baptize the Trabbis as soon as they come!” True enough, when ten Trabbis came along driven by East Berlin woman the cars were literally baptized with champagne. All in the name of peace and freedom

“This is the most beautiful chaos in the world…”