Mauerfall

As I get older I am amazed at how fast time flies by.  Five years ago I wrote about the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  Now it's five years later and it is the 25th anniversary of the Mauerfall (the fall of the wall).

Twenty five years ago I was in the U.S. Air Force.  The Cold War was still on.  Back then, military linguists learned how to speak critical East European languages such as German, Czech and Polish.  Russian is the only Cold War language that is still taught to the military.  Now I'm working for IBM in Czech Republic.  Who would have thought that possible 25 years ago? 

Very little of the Berlin Wall still exists.  What's left is mostly for tourists which I find kind of sad.  I understand that Berlin wants to move past its divided history.  However, the Mauerfall can still be an inspiration to those people living under oppressive regimes.

©CBS Evening News

Update: The 30th anniversary.