"Within my capacity as a German teacher, I accompanied a group of French children on a school trip to Berlin from Strasbourg. It was November 1989, just before the Wall fell. We travelled with the French military train which had been ferrying the Allies and their families from Strasbourg to Berlin for nearly fifty years. The train ran along the Wall, through Berlin-Reinickendorf to the French military station on the Buddestraße in Tegel. This Wall stood immovable, with its watchtowers, death strips, roadblocks, and covered in brightly changing graffiti. After seeing it for the first time as a French student in 1965 and then later living with it for several years when I came to settle in Berlin, it simply felt part of the landscape for me. Having only just returned to Strasbourg, I unfortunately was only able to experience the 9 November in front of the television. Crying with joy, I took photos of the 'frenzy' shown on television because I didn't have a video recorder. I finally made it back to Berlin for New Year 1989. It was a private visit this time and together with family, the whole of Berlin and half the world, I celebrated this historical day with sparkling wine at the Brandenburg Gate. This was soon followed by the obligatory walk to the Wall to chip off some colourful pieces, which I still cherish as souvenirs to this day. The Wall remained a source of fascination for me for a long time to come. In spring 1990, when on the next school trip, I took photos of the East Side Gallery, and later on, I even took pictures of a Wall segment that had been put up in the French headquarters, the Quartier Napoléon. Nowadays, I often go past the Wall since several segments have in the meantime been put up near the European Parliament in Strasbourg – the Wall is everywhere!"
Elisabeth Wilz
