User Comments

Sometimes I also receive personal accounts from people who were "there", and some comments which are obviously based on the misconception that the articles published here are somehow "my opinion". Don't shoot the messenger!

Here are some of the reactions I received - in the language they were sent:

Ingeborg Beyer Sapp, Sep 1999:

"As a native of Leipzig - now in USA - I followed the events very closely and now with the 10 year anniversary coming up - I strongly remember my feelings "HOW I WANTED TO DANCE ON THE WALL" - I fled communism when I was 18 and I was so very proud seeing the demonstrations in Leipzig on the Augustus Platz- the very same square we had to gather in praise of communism whether we wanted or not."

Paul Evans, Jan 1999:

" I really enjoyed looking at your wonderful photo collection. It brought great memories back for me as I was serving in the British Army with the Royal Engineers at the time and stationed in Smuts barracks near Spandau. The 9th of November will always remain with me as one of the greatest moments in my life, and the happiness and joy that was shared amongst all who was there is something that will probably never be repeated in our life time. I consider myself honored to have been involved in this fantastic time in history and with your photo's I can con- stantly go back to those days and now even share them with my children and some day my grand children as all my photo's were sadly destroyed in a fire except for one."

Holley Ewell, Sep 1999:

"Your site is great! I love the depth and variety of your photos and I really wish that I could have been there that day too. You really did a super job. Thanks!"

"Murphy", Nov 1999:

"We are visiters of your site to celebrate the 10th aniversairy of the wall. I must admitt that your site bored me greatly showing pictures of burnt bins which show hardly any reasoning to be in this site. Thank for creating it but it was shit."

Ellen Albrektsen, Nov 1999:

"I would like to comment to "Murphy" at Yahoo.com that they certainly have no appreciation for the depth of your photos [...] I was in the military myself (US Marines) and my husband is in the Army. In 1996 we had an opportunity to visit Berlin - me for the first time and he as a return visitor. He had been stationed there in 1986 and couldn't believe the difference in attitude, commerce, etc. Berlin is a wonderfully historic city. Remnants of the wall remain all over the city (graffiti and all). I am very glad these pieces stayed because they serve as a reminder to everyone what we as humans can do to each other. Your photos are great. Just the idea that they are available to view openly - that you've taken the time to share them with everyone is the best part. [...]"

Tony Williams, Mar 2000:

"I was thrilled to see pictures of my satellite dish on your site. I covered the Fall of the Wall for CNN and provided the live feed. It was truly a magical experience and I fell in love with Berlin and the people. I've shared the images with my associates and we all had a flood of memories. The images are so well done I can almost hear the crowd and smell the curry wurst and beer. It was the most rewarding event I ever provided live pictures for."

W. Bullard, May 1999:

"I am presently working on a lecture that I will be presenting at the University of New Mexico celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Fall of the Wall. Should you ever need information on this historic event feel free to contact me. I was the last US Army Sergeant (NCOIC) of the US Sector Wall Intelligence Section and was the liaison to the German government for the release of information used during the "Shoot to kill" trials that followed the fall. Great work on your site."

An anonymous reader, Oct 1999:

"Thanks so much for the website. I really loved your photos.
I was an adolescent when the wall went up, on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I still have the chatty newsletter circulated to passengers noting on August 13, 1961 that the East German authorities had begun constructing the wall. Over time, that wall became part of the "furniture" of my adult life, a point of reference for my dedication to public service, my politics, my historical world view, and my eternal gratitude for being a citizen of the United States. The wall was, and will always be, a symbol to me of the essential horror of Communism and, at a more basic level, what we are capable of doing to maintain power over our fellows. Twenty-eight years!!
I know I will never ever forget the joy I felt watching the crowds in your photographs, via CNN, methodically chip away at it, and at the political force that had kept it up all those years. It was like the chink-chink-chink of a prisoner breaking out of his cell, only this was the sound of a whole country liberating itself.
[...] Thank you for bringing it all back."