The 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Wall was merrier than the tenth. In 1999, Berlin was in the middle of a hangover. The European Union was plagued by doubts about its future course; the bloodbath in the former Yugoslavia had unnerved optimists; the Russian economy had collapsed; the sullen misery and unemployment in what had been East Germany seemed to mock the hopes of real unification. This November was different. There was still plenty to worry about - the war in Afghanistan dragged hopelessly on; the world's financial economy was in ruins - but the Germans seemed not to mind. In Berlin this time, few people talked about betrayed hopes or the failures of free-market capitalism. Instead, they simply celebrated that moment 20 years ago, the laughter and tears as the barriers across the Bornholmer Strasse checkpoint gave way and the thousands surged through.

LRB 7 January 2010 | PDF Download