"A year later –
and everyone has been rewriting their own history. Legends have been pieced-together from half truths, wishful thinking, excuses and lies to create an alleged conception of history.
Such as the insignificant border guard from Bornholmer Bridge who had supposedly opened the border gate of his own accord, and not acted on higher authority. The loyal subject, who had hitherto obeyed every shoot-to-kill order, then went about turning himself into a heroic figure of German history. While all the while the longstanding General Secretary’s perpetually laughing deputy and brief successor goes unpunished and is elevated to the status of 'savior of the nation'. On highly-paid talk shows he announces that he had intended to introduce extensive reforms and had personally decided against bloodshed. And yet another big-mouthed member of the old Central Committee, against whom likewise no charges have been laid or ever will be, is taking full (equally fraudulent) credit for the removal of the border fortifications. This is how the 'jailer' takes on the guise of 'forerunner for German unity' – no different than the extremely lucky Christian Democrat chancellor who, according to his own account, had consistently and forcefully advanced precisely the same 'unity' for decades. And then succeeds at celebrating himself with Deutsche Mark-stupefied masses, stuffed full of bananas and Mercedes-dreams.
The turncoats rewrite their own histories with lies. Word for word, half-truth for half-truth, lie for lie, they work hard at building new Walls – with success. One of these walls has already been erected in people’s heads – separating us from our past. And one day it’ll get to the point where we’ll vehemently deny that there had even been another German State – and that on greater German soil. Not to mention the Wall, shoot-to-kill order, the Party, Stasi and…
And each of the sixteen million have always been citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany and a democrat. No-one’s to blame. Everyone was a hero. Or a victim. No-one was the perpetrator. At worst, they had only followed prevailing laws, reluctantly of course, in grudging and secret antagonism, in order to prevent even worse things from happening.
Within the shortest year of German history, yesterday has already been forgotten. The same can be said of tomorrow. They are particularly versatile, these Germans.
And the minority individual will have to become a stuffed exhibit on display in the German Historic Museum at the chancellor’s wish. That would be their last protest."
From "Das Mauer-Syndrom" ("The Wall Syndrome") a collection of short prose from 1961 to 1990
Jürgen Nagel (East Berlin)
