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Crosses form shadows on a replica of
the Berlin Wall in Berlin, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2004. 1,065 crosses
commemorate those who died while trying to escape from East
Germany. Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004 is the 15th anniversary of the
night the Wall fell in 1989.
(AP) | |
Ceremonies to mark the 15th anniversary of the
fall of the Berlin Wall was held in the German capital on Nov. 9th.
The city's mayor laid a wreath, while the chancellor when the wall
fell, Helmut Kohl, took part in a public debate.
The barrier was constructed by the East German authorities in 1961, in
response to the growing numbers of citizens fleeing into West Berlin.
Fifteen years on, memories are dimming of a cold November night when
the impossible happened.
East Berliners were suddenly free to cross into the West - and they did
so in their thousands.
For decades the Berlin Wall was the most tangible symbol of the Cold War.
In the Soviet Union the leader at the time, Mikhail Gorbachev, was
pursuing Glasnost, or ‘openness'. The hardline leadership in East Berlin
was powerless to stop the first mass demonstrations in decades.
Opening the wall was a moment of history that finally led to German
re-unification.
But it is an uneasy unity today, with the former east still lagging
behind the west economically, despite receiving huge subsidies over the
last 15 years.
The situation is causing
simmering resentment in both halves of Germany.
(Agencies) |
11月9日，紀念柏林墻倒塌15周年的儀式在德國首都舉行。
柏林市長（在柏林墻前）獻上了花環，柏林墻倒塌時在位的前聯邦德國總理赫爾穆特·科爾參加了公開討論。
1961年，由于逃往西柏林的人數不斷增加，當時的東德當局修建了柏林墻作為應對措施。
15年過去了，關于15年前那個11月的寒冷夜晚的記憶已漸漸模糊。但就在那個晚上，不可思議的事真的發生了。
東柏林的居民突然可以自由地穿過（柏林墻）去往西柏林，數以千計的人們也確實這樣做了。
幾十年來，柏林墻一直是冷戰最真實的象征。
當時的前蘇聯領導人米哈伊爾·戈爾巴喬夫倡導“開放”的政治改革。當時東德領導人奉行的強硬路線已經無力阻擋幾十年來的第一次大規模示威活動。
柏林墻的開放是歷史性的一刻，最終促成了德國統一。
但是如今，統一后的德國并非天下太平。盡管在過去15年間，原東德地區獲得了巨額補貼，但在經濟上，它仍然落后于原西德地區。
這種情形導致了原東西德雙方間的埋怨和不滿逐漸增加。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2004-11-10 10:16