Amid the tension and tragedy, there are some flashes of levity. Taylor recounts how Vice-President Lyndon Johnson arrived in West Berlin to boost morale in the days after the borders were closed. Following a hero's welcome and much pressing of the flesh, Johnson asked West Berlin Mayor, Willy Brandt about the possibility of shopping for some quality porcelain during his visit. Brandt apologetically explained that as it was a Sunday, the shops were closed. "Well, goddammit! What if they are closed", exclaimed the furious Texan. "You're the mayor, aren't you?" Johnson got his porcelain.
Despite public condemnation, the West privately acknowledged little could be done about the Berlin Wall. As mayor, Willy Brandt wrote an angry letter to Kennedy demanding a robust American response to the crisis. But as Chancellor of West Germany, Brandt adopted a more conciliatory stance with the GDR. Taylor observes that during the 1980s, even as a deep freeze set in between the superpowers, the thaw between the two Germanys continued. During a visit to West Germany in 1987, East German leader Erich Honecker allowed himself a rare moment of melancholy, suggesting the borders between the two countries were not as they should be. By this time, East and West Berlin were divided by a sophisticated system of barriers, traps and checkpoints of which “the Wall” formed only the final frontier. Escape attempts had dwindled, and it seemed as if the East Germans had finally come to terms with life under a grim, brutal regime. But something was stirring.
No-one was prepared for the speed with which events moved. On the night of November 9 1989. Mikhail Gorbachev, who had loosened Moscow's grip on its satellite states, slept soundly as thousands breached the Berlin Wall. Meanwhile, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, making a visit to Poland’s new Solidarity government, discovered he was "dancing at the wrong wedding." Taylor's description of that night is enthralling. His minute-by-minute account captures the confusion surrounding a botched East German press conference and the subsequent euphoria at the newly-open border. Missing from this section, though, are the eyewitness accounts of ordinary Berliners which made the earlier chapters so vivid.
Article comments
1 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net , which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States, and to Boston.com. Nice work!
2 - SFC SKI
Thanks for the review. I was briefly stationed in West Berlin and I had the opportunity to go to East Berlin on occasion. THe differences between the two Berlins were amazingly obvious in 1989. I went back to Berlin in 2002, and so much had changed, it's hard to believe but worht seeing.
3 - Maura Rubencamp
My brother David served the US Army as a MP on a boat on the river, Spree, in 1966-68 and reported removing many bodies from the water due to machine guns on turrets killing escapees.Some were helped by the army to safety and the reality of communist oppression was very vivid ti Dave. He was stationed in east Berlin and met people he liked.
In 1961 President Kennedy ordered reserves to battle service readiness and my husband went to Fort Dix and got winter clothing and training for the deployment that never came. I had an infant when he left and the public and my family supported the readiness to prevent the wall going up. That failure was a distinct blow to the Germans who then suffered in isolation for 30 years.
4 - Jimk
I only know of one Maura Rubencamp who would have a brother Dave, and they lived on Corlear Ave. in the Bronx.
5 - Viktoria
I'm writing from Germany.In 1967 I was 17 years old and my father had a boatyard right beside the American Recreation Center at the "Wannsee" which is nearly a part of the river "Spree". That was the place where I got to know my first great love and this was Corporal David Rubencamp.With one of our rowboats I often visited him on the Patrol Boat. Later he came to our house and we were together till that terrible day when his time in the army came to an end.My wish to live in the USA with him later never came true but I'd like to hear from him.
6 - James Carson
Viktoria, I hope you manage to get in touch with David. It would be nice to know that you were reunited after all these years.
James
7 - Bob M.
I heard David Rubencamp died almost 20 years ago.
8 - Maura Rubencamp
Thanks to Victoria for e-mailing me about my brother,David Rubencamp. It is unfortunate they can not reunite today as he did die in 1992. He was only 48 and it was unexpected. Thanks to all the e-mailers who remember him and stay in touch!Maura