I've been reading lots lately on the 1989 revolutions that brought down the Iron Curtain, especially accounts that were written at the time or not long after.
Looking back 20 years, it is the first bit of history I experienced as an adult and, given I had a personal interest in the outcome, it wasn't something that simply passed me by at the time. Given that, I have clear memories.
What are they ? News reports of Poland's round table and elections, although nebulous, still made an impression. Hungarian border guards out with the wire cutters opening the border with Austria is a sharper memory, as is the film of East Germans jumping through the gap.
But most of all it is the Czechs standing in Wenceslas Square jangling their car keys, Dubcek standing on the balcony while the crowds cheered. And Marta Kubisova singing. The more I read the more the song won't leave my head.
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Looking back 20 years, it is the first bit of history I experienced as an adult and, given I had a personal interest in the outcome, it wasn't something that simply passed me by at the time. Given that, I have clear memories.
What are they ? News reports of Poland's round table and elections, although nebulous, still made an impression. Hungarian border guards out with the wire cutters opening the border with Austria is a sharper memory, as is the film of East Germans jumping through the gap.
But most of all it is the Czechs standing in Wenceslas Square jangling their car keys, Dubcek standing on the balcony while the crowds cheered. And Marta Kubisova singing. The more I read the more the song won't leave my head.
object width="425" height="344">
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