The German commentator Wolfgang Templin was among the most active oppositionists in the former GDR and suffered cruelest repressions. Our readers will find it interesting to learn about his impressions of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Have the major European political players learned their lesson from this event, especially with regard to the wall which is now being built to separate South Ossetia and Georgia?
What are your personal memories of the fall of the Wall? What did you feel at that moment?
“Four years before that, in the fall of 1985, we created in East Berlin an oppositionist human rights group, Peace and Human Rights Initiative. We drew inspiration from the opposition movements and dissident activities in other Eastern Bloc countries and the Soviet Union. We felt we owed them a lot, although in comparison to, say, the powerful opposition in Poland we were very isolated. We realized that we found ourselves under absolutely different conditions of the divided Germany.
“The title of our samizdat magazine, Grenzfall (“borderline case”), which was published for several years, symbolized our desire for the fall of all borders (grenzfall also stands for “the fall of borders”), i.e.. the Iron Curtain separating the Eastern Bloc countries from free Europe and the free world, as well as from one another.
“The most painful and aggravating of all the borders was the Berlin Wall, whose fall we tried to bring closer with our activities. Little did we know then, in late 1980s, how close we were to our goal.
“After the arrest and deportation to the Federal Republic of Germany in February 1988, I continued my political career as an emigrant in the West, but I still saw myself a part of the GDR opposition. Thus, the fall of the Wall, just like the surge of mass demonstrations prior to it, found me in the Federal Republic, where I shared the feeling of immense relief with the others.
“I held the GDR passport and thus remained a GDR citizen in the FRG, but starting February 1988, I was banned from the GDR territory. After the fall of the Wall, the GDR authorities could not prolong this “forced exile” anymore, so my family and I came back to East Berlin as early as in November 1989, to take part in the roundtable talks as one of the representatives of the Peace and Human Rights Initiative.”
Do you think that the contemporary politicians have learned their lesson from these events?
“Only to an insignificant extent and very slowly so far. The year 1989 is more than just the fall of the Wall, reunification of Germany, and liberation of other countries. It is the end of the short twentieth century (1914–89), the century of concentration camps, dictatorships, and totalitarianism in Europe. At the same time, this was the end of communism as an international system. The peaceful liberation revolutions of 1989 have the pan-European, if not worldwide, importance and rank with the French Revolution of 1789.
“The power and international dimension of these events were a tremendous challenge for the societies and elites of various countries both in the East and in the West. 1989 ushered in the values of democracy, rule-of-law state, and a social market-oriented economy in all the nations of our continent. To successfully follow this path, the Eastern Bloc countries, which had been isolated from freedom and democracy for decades, needed help from the West.
“Of course, it was up to them to find and shape their own methods of reform. But in doing so, they had to carry the burden of their past. For some of the free and independent (since 1989) nations of the Eastern Bloc, this path of reform turned out to be successful, and now they are the EU member countries.
“However, after 1989 it was a matter of all-European dimension of the transformations, including those under way in the former Soviet nations, which had a particularly thorny road to freedom. Here the success of the Baltic states contrasts the suspended situation in Ukraine and the complex problems in Belarus, Moldova, and other East European states. As the integration of new EU members encountered staunch resistance from a part of western European politicians, it is clear that in the case of the other states and nations (which need even more help), there will be a strong tendency towards lingering, restraint, and even open rejection.
“Personally, I would value the politicians’ foresight and ability to recognize the cultural, civilization, and economic potential of Eastern Europe and take it as a future asset rather than a burden or even a threat.
“Another omission and deficit in politics is the treatment of the 1989 heritage. The word ‘heritage,’ if applicable here, means such values as the will for freedom, civic courage, and the rise against the anti-human system. These values forbid one from flirtations with new dictators and authoritarian leaders, no matter what their names are today: Lukashenko, Putin, or Medvedev. Sure enough, no one will avoid a dialog with them, but they should not be termed partners. A particularly problematic example here has been demonstrated by our ex-Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with his political style and the style of communication with the powers that be in Russia.”
What is your opinion of the new walls – in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Georgia?
“I wish the German public had paid more attention and support to the letter on this problem written in September by certain European politicians and intellectuals, including Waclaw Havel and Vytautas Landsbergis. I share the authors’ opinions and perceive the present situation as a threat to Georgia’s territorial integrity and an explicit encouragement of Russia’s expansionist policies.
“With all the shared guilt and errors of Saakashvili (and his supporters), it is proven that the occupation of the Georgian territories was planned in Moscow as far back as in the spring of 2008. The support to the separatists was becoming more and more intensive; and all that was to become a trial balloon for the continuation and expansion of the ‘immediate influence zone’ policy.
“The Crimea is another trial balloon. On the whole, it is necessary that the West support the democratic forces in Georgia and take a stand regarding Russia that would set clearly defined limits and called on Russia to treat its neighbors in a civilized way as partners.
“Russia should say goodbye to its great-power ambitions and hegemonic fantasies, recognize the European choice made by Georgia, Ukraine, and other neighbor nations, and consider it as its own chance, as Zbigniew Brzezinski formulated it in Kyiv.”
There have been claims to the effect that the EU policies denying Ukraine’s membership prospects can result in a new wall in Eastern Europe.
“I perceive this threat, too. The Schengen regulations, for example, are a hindrance to regional partnership and cooperation in the extensive border area along the Ukrainian-Polish and Ukrainian-Hungarian borders. Until now there is still no more or less positive response from the EU states to the introduction of the visa-waiver regime by Ukraine, which we can enjoy for all trips and contacts.
“Regarding Ukraine’s EU membership prospects, the emphasis should be laid not so much on the guarantees and short-term breakthroughs as on long-term rapprochement and support, with a clear view to further full-fledged membership. Certainly, it is up to Ukraine and Ukrainians to solve their problems in reforming the state and step up their democratic effort, but they should feel solidarity and support on the part of their European partners.”
What kind of aid could the EU provide to help Ukraine speed up the most urgent reforms and launch the next ones?
“Five years after the culmination of the Maidan in Kyiv, after the events which are rightfully remembered by the international community as the Orange Revolution, Ukraine is again facing the threat of being perceived as ‘the sick man on the Dnieper River.’ The civil society and reform champions, who have raised their voices since 2004 and can express their opinions in the free mass media and who perceive a democratic election as a chance for changes, are opposed by a considerable part of political and business elites that continue regarding their country as a self-service store and treat it accordingly. Even Ukraine’s friends will have a difficulty understanding the political maneuvers, the scope of corruption, the weakness of justice, and other institutions.
“Ukrainian writers, artists, and intellectuals act as their nation’s good ambassadors and take a clear-cut stand in all these matters. But they are also in danger of capitulation to a reform blockade within the country.
“Easing the visa regime for all forms of exchange programs, as well as programs for the support of the civil sector and NGOs in Ukraine, transfer of experience in the sphere of democratic institutes, independent justice, and elimination of corruption could enforce the reformative forces in Ukraine. The crucial thing that needs support here is the development of civil culture that focuses on social responsibility, allows for self-criticism in interpreting its own history, and understands the fallen communist system not only as foreign occupation but also as a culture that produces culprits and criminals, including those who ordered the assassination of Georgi Gongadze..
“However, first and foremost, the EU itself should learn how to set good examples. The elites’ corruptibility and haughtiness and their contempt for “the ones below” — these phenomena are not limited exclusively to Ukraine and other post-communist nations, but are, to a certain degree, our common problem.
“In the question of Europe supporting the prospective progress of Ukraine and other nations on their road to rapprochement, success will mostly depend on the presence or absence of long-term partnership policies between the EU and Eastern Europe. Relations with Russia also ought to be included there, yet without creating any special bonds and privileges for this country because of its large size. Poland and the Baltic states, the immediate neighbors, should be at the hub of shaping this policy — but this would perhaps require also Germany as an additional motor. Who knows, the present crisis and the new tendencies in the political developments in this country might even present an opportunity for this.”








