# 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall



## a_majoor (10 Nov 2009)

20 years since "The end of History"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/opinion/09douthat.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss



> *Life After the End of History*
> 
> By ROSS DOUTHAT
> Published: November 9, 2009
> ...


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## PMedMoe (10 Nov 2009)

Mods, can the spelling of anniversary be corrected in the title?


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## George Wallace (10 Nov 2009)

I would have thought that our Thucydides would not have made that mistake.


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## a_majoor (11 Nov 2009)

Get filled up with flu medication and see how easy it is to spell......


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## PMedMoe (11 Nov 2009)

Thucydides said:
			
		

> Get filled up with flu medication and see how easy it is to spell......



That's why there's spell check.   

Good article, though.


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## Paul Gagnon (11 Nov 2009)

I might be the only one who thinks this but to me all the celebration around the fall of the Berlin Wall seems akin to celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the release of a criminal simply because he had a cruel jailor.


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## George Wallace (11 Nov 2009)

Paul Gagnon said:
			
		

> I might be the only one who thinks this but to me all the celebration around the fall of the Berlin Wall seems akin to celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the release of a criminal simply because he had a cruel jailor.



 ???

I don't follow your logic; but then again, I have been there.


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## Paul Gagnon (11 Nov 2009)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> ???
> 
> I don't follow your logic; but then again, I have been there.



The occupation of Germany was a direct result of World War Two. The Berlin Wall was a direct result of that occupation...


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## George Wallace (11 Nov 2009)

Paul Gagnon said:
			
		

> The occupation of Germany was a direct result of World War Two. The Berlin Wall was a direct result of that occupation...



 ???

So?  What does this have to do with "the release of a criminal simply because he had a cruel jailor"?  Were the Americans, the Brits and the French cruel jailors of criminals?  Were the Canadians serving in NATO cruel jailors of criminals?   Perhaps the Soviets were cruel, but they weren't jailing criminals.  I don't quite get your point.


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## Paul Gagnon (11 Nov 2009)

You don't have to agree with me but it's not that hard to figure out what I am saying. 


Germany was at war with the world. 
The world put a stop to that war and the country was divided and occupied by four allies. 
The occupiers didn't see eye to eye and three became enemies with one. 
One of the occupiers put up a wall.
That same occupier eventually gave up trying to keep people from crossing to the west and  the wall came down. 
Germany is reunified 
20 years after the Germans are celebrated for having endured behind that wall. 

I'm not saying that Germany or Germans should be ostracised for all time but I think that it should have been a much more solemn occasion (taking into account the events that led to the division of the country and the existence of the wall)  than was presented.


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## George Wallace (11 Nov 2009)

Oh!  I see now.  That would be like us English Canadians not having to be ostracised for all time for defeating the French on the Plains of Abraham and that 1 July should be a much more solemn occasion.  

It is a celebration of a country being reunited after being divided for forty some years.


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## Paul Gagnon (11 Nov 2009)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Oh!  I see now.  That would be like us English Canadians not having to be ostracised for all time for defeating the French on the Plains of Abraham and that 1 July should be a much more solemn occasion.



That's a pretty big stretch and a cheap shot. 


> It is a celebration of a country being reunited after being divided for forty some years.



The official date of reunification is Oct 3rd.

Like I prefaced my original post, I may be the only one that thinks this, but like you say in your signature it is my right to have my opinion.


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## George Wallace (11 Nov 2009)

Actually, all that your comment showed me was how ignorant you, and quite likely the majority of North Americans, are about that portion of history.  The isolation that most have had from this portion of history is due to a few things, such as education (in our school systems) and lack of travel in an age when travel was quite easy and open.  Not meant as a cheap shot or insult, but as an observation.  I am sure that if you had spent some time there your views (or comments) would be different.  --   Just a wild guess.


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## Paul Gagnon (11 Nov 2009)

I'm only going with the information that I have which, admittedly isn't a whole lot more than what is available in popular culture and the news media. That is why I am unsure if my conclusion is valid or not. Perhaps my error is in viewing the end of WW II and the rise and fall of Communism in the Eastern Bloc as separate issues.

I have never had the opportunity to travel to Germany and in the time of the Berlin Wall I was just a kid.  If you have the time I'd appreciate any insight that you have.


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