Local History

On 9 November 1989 a revolution began in Eastern Europe as the border between east and west began to crumble.

Carola Weih was raised on the eastern side of the wall and said: "Life wasn't as bad as many people think.

Passing the wall meant going through a checkpoint

"Because I was a child it was good, very stable. The state looked after you in every way."

Emma David was a student in the Soviet Union at the time and she described hearing the news of the Wall falling as "absolute sheer and utter delight".

Carola was 18 in 1989 and said "we were aware that life was different in the west".

"We couldn't travel and I think that was one of the main things because when you're young you want to see the world - that and freedom of speech," she said.

She explained that despite this life in Communist Europe was not as bad for her as it is often pictured. She described it as "living in a secure system" where, in her experience every one had jobs, education and healthcare.

Emma David was a language student studying in the Eastern Bloc at the time and she described it as "totally strange... there was no soap, no toothpaste and no running water during some months" showing the contrasts in different regions despite the supposed equality of the state.

The wall was decorated with graffitti

When the Berlin Wall came down Carola was in Leipzig and she said: "When we heard the news we couldn't believe it... the first thing I thought was 'I can go to New Zealand now!'."

She continued: "It could have been anarchy the next day but East Germans do, as West Germans do, they go to work - then there was a slow transition".

One of the major changes that Carola saw was the change in stability for people accustomed to a more regimented life, especially in terms of employment as state owned companies were brought.

Emma said that during this transitional phase she visited Lithuania, the first country to declare its independence from Soviet Russia.

She described a scene of refugees returning home from forced resettlement which caused tension and she said "Russian planes flew overhead" as they tried to calm the situation down which she said was "quite scary".

Both Emma and Carola agreed that not everyone supported the change and Carola said "the control is there in a capitalist system, it's just more subtle - you are not that free either".