Today is a day which shows how contradictory the history of Germany was. On Nov. 9th we saw some of the darkest and one of the brightest moments in our history.

90 years ago, 2days before the ceasefire was ending WW I, the german social-democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the German Republic.


70 years ago there was the "Kristallnacht", the start of the systematic terror against the jewish population in Nazi-Germany.

I´m sure those times never can return.

19 years ago we had one of the brightest moments in our history when the Berlin wall was opened, it was started in Berlins Bornholmer Straße border checkpoint in the evening hours of Nov. 9th.

Early morning laundry day and who knew of all the history! Life is too short to take on all the bad days. Better to enjoy each day at a time and hope for good things, like a box full of pp mail on monday for all those wap ads replied to and not answered!

German history is quite fascinating especially in regards to WWII. Thank you for the post with these pictures.

It has a negative touch here to say, that i´m proud to be a german because those words are often used by the far-rights. But nevertheless i am when i reflect which dark century we have left behind us with two world wars, a divided nation, a deadly borderline in our own country and when i see what the end of the last century meant for us. We are one of those nations with a peaceful revolution. Our society is really not perfect, but we live peaceful and in friendship with our neighbours, we have modern social standards (like other EU members), we are a hardworking nation. And our country is pretty nice. I love my home country.

I think everybody has the right to be proud of his country. Surely, we as germans have to face the fact that we are seen different by outsiders because of our past. In my opinion we should never forget about this dark part of history also because it was and will always be a part of ourselves. But it's a part of mankind history too and to reduce us as a people on this is a mistake. There are many good things here in Germany. I'm not concerned about saying that I'm proud to be german (and I belong to the left wing).
Marlene Dietrich said once: "Germany is the country of Goethe, Schiller and Heine, not of Hitler." That's what I mean. We can't allow the world to forget about all this hate and suffering that happened here. That's the burden we have to bear. But we also shouldn't define ourselves only through this.

every country and culture has its dark history but we learn from it and move on....Thanks for the pictures....

How can we appreciate the dawn of a new day, if we do not have the darkness of night?

I always enjoy the thoughts and pics you share with us Andreas.

Andreas - Thank you for the history lessons you give us about Germany and the photos.

I lived there for about 18 months. It is a beautiful country, the people are friendly and family loving. They are very hard working people and proud of what they have. It is such a clean country. I loved my time there and hated to leave. I enjoyed the customs that you experience throughout the year. My time there was very special and I will always hold it dear.

I felt the pain and was touched deeply by your heartfelt words and your rememberance. I guess in order to really, really know you have to have walked through it. It really is a wonderful thing that others want to undersatnd and show simpathy and/or empathy for what a person has been through or feels, it really is, but unless you have experienced it yourself, or unless you have been through something as painful and life consuming to me you can never fully appreciate what that person has gone through or what they are trying to express.

I appreciate what you have posted here. I hae lived through some things that have made me aware of what you are expressing. I am sorry for what you have experienced and it will never go away so that you can move on. It is a part of you forever and it will never go away.

I would think that as it is your history, you would tell this to your children and grandchildren good and bad.

history is important and cannot be swept under the rug. Toomany lives are involved that had and have meaning.

I respect what you have posted and only wih that there was more that I could say or do but then I feel it would be too little too late at this point.

Yes, your places are beautiful, and yes, it is the past and yes, you have moved forward for the better, but even still you want to remember because it is important and a part of you and it makes you a much stronger and better human being.

Be lessed!
Thank you for sharing this part of your history, this part of you.

OK, I am having problems with finding the edit button so what I meant to say was Be Blessed! LOL!

And I didn't mean to be so heavy in the post, I was just so overwhelmed by your post, and Lachsis's post.

Thanks again for sharing, I do appreciate it and again, I apologize if I was out of line in any way.