I grew up on the western side of the Iron curtain. Not far from the border. My father was born in East Germany and had fled with his mother, ssister and brother before the wall was up.
They could only take one suitcase to make it look like they were visiting western Germany only. So he and his family came to the west.
His life went in a way so that he got a job near the border as it was back then in north eastern Bavaria.
Not far from where I grew up there was another village divided by a wall: Little Berlin [1]
It was interesting as a child to grow up near a divided village and country. And seeing the border fall.
I still remember my dad, tears streaming down his face while watching people standing on the Berlin Wall when it fell. I remember him welcoming the trains from the West German Embassy with the GDR people shortly before that. [2]
They could only take one suitcase to make it look like they were visiting western Germany only. So he and his family came to the west.
His life went in a way so that he got a job near the border as it was back then in north eastern Bavaria.
Not far from where I grew up there was another village divided by a wall: Little Berlin [1]
It was interesting as a child to grow up near a divided village and country. And seeing the border fall.
I still remember my dad, tears streaming down his face while watching people standing on the Berlin Wall when it fell. I remember him welcoming the trains from the West German Embassy with the GDR people shortly before that. [2]
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6dlareuth?wprov=sfla1
[2]: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl%C3%BCchtlingsz%C3%BCge_aus_... (German only)