Growing up behind the Iron Curtain
In November 2024 Germany officially celebrates 35 years since reunification; it’s not been an easy road and continues to unite and divide. The country has come a long way, but to a degree East & West still exist in people’s minds, is reflected in salaries, political orientation and the like. Time to take a brief trip down my own memory lane.
Growing up behind the Iron Curtain, I was once a uniform-clad Jungpionier marching to the beat of Socialism. And while the country I was born in – aka the German Democratic Republic (GDR) – officially ceased to exist decades years ago, the places of my youth can still be found on the map of the unified Bundesrepublik Deutschland; and the stories of lining up for hours on end outside a store live on.
After the Berlin Wall fell, little by little my world started opening up. First, it was family trips to former West Berlin, where my parents received and promptly blew our Begruessungsgeld on frivolous things like a visit to the West Berlin Zoo, a red walkman for myself and a stuffed teddy bear for my little sister (she still has it!). As a teenager, I spent countless Summers participating in and eventually guiding youth camps all over the republic. Backdrop to many family vacations and camping adventures with friends, I always had a deep fondness for the Baltic Sea. On every visit, climbing up and over the sand dunes, setting my eyes on the glimmering sea that lay outstretched in front of me, was a treasured moment.
Upon finishing college, I longed to explore the world. I was thankful for the freedom to pack my bags and simply go, something that had been the stuff of wild dreams for my parent’s generation. So I did just that. I was 21 at the time. I couldn’t have imagined then that I’d eventually end up marrying a handsome Canadian and moving halfway around the world.
I cherish the fact that I have one foot in Europe, and one in North America. It enables me to see Germany through the eyes of someone that decided to move away, yet calls the place home. I continue to have strong ties with and return often to ze motherland, and as such have grand plans to head back across the pond to take in some of the celebrations later this year.
