To commemorate 25 years of the fall of the Berlin Wall, German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner will be recreating the iconic scenes of the event at his residence in the national capital.
The barrier was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1961 which completely cut off West Berlin by land from surrounding East Germany and East Berlin.
Preparing for the event, which will be held at the Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany here on October 3, Steiner today said the day will also be marked to celebrate the National Day of German Unity.
"The Fall of the Wall led not only to the reunification of Berlin, Germany at large and Europe. It was an event that changed the world, as we knew it. The Iron Curtain, that had cut Europe into two pieces, opened up on November 9, 1989 in Berlin where it had shown its ugliest face.
"People had died trying to cross this symbol of inhumanity--they were killed only because they were striving to live in freedom," Steiner said.
The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on October 3,1990.
Having witnessed the 'Fall of the Wall' as the Spokesperson of the Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany in Prague, Steiner said after the Second World War it was a significant event--partition of a city, the overcoming of this division was done "without a single shot. Not one shot has been fired in the process, which is quite a signal".
On October 2, 1989 Steiner who was a press attache at that time had helped GDR refugee Michael Fleischman from being arrested while trying to escape from GDR.
"We had a lot of sympathy expressed by the Indians, which encouraged us going down the path. This iconic event for us is also recognised in India as a positive moment in world history," Steiner told PTI.
The Ambassador also launched the second edition of the Embassy's e-magazine "Whats up Germany" which would feature the story of the Berlin Wall, incidents and stories of people related to the historic event.
The 'Fall of the Wall' was produced by the common people, not by the political, he said, and invited civil society to be a part of the celebrations.
"We will try to revive the time, 25 years ago, what happened then. We will also try to show what was the consequence of that, the modern Berlin," Steiner said.
A TV Tower, a stretched limousine Mercedes 500 symbolic of their city life, and a small counter with special items from Berlin have been erected at the Embassy to depict the scenes.
A film showing visuals of the iconic event with original videos from that time will also be shown during Friday's event.
On being asked if German heads of state visiting India after their Foreign Minister recently concluded his visit, Steiner said, "I am sure and also the other way round.
