Fifteen years ago today the Berlin Wall began to come down. In December of 1999 I flew to Berlin, walked up to the wall with a hammer, and pounded on it until pieces fell off in my hand. I was there when they opened the Brandenberg Gate.
Crooked Timber has some relevant links.
We used to have a piece of the wall, but I’m not sure what happened to it. In a box somewhere, surely; we wouldn’t have gotten rid of it. Mr. B.’s father was a Berliner.
I remember watching the wall come down on television, drinking champagne, and crying.