Comments on: Growing Up in East Germany: Reflections 20 Years Later

By: neha

neha — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:54:45 +0000

Christine, I saw that poster and thought it outrageous. But then my friend said she remembered it from when it was in circulation. She said they were told that’s how the season’s harvest (mostly potatoes, if I’m not mistaken – the bug was even called the American Bug) was being destroyed by the West. I think I have a picture of that poster somewhere.

Carlo, Yvonne Thanks for sharing this piece. The details here are so powerful, raw.

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By: Carlo Alcos

Carlo Alcos — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:30:35 +0000

Thanks Valerie, Yvonne was just telling me how she remembers their tiny little car being searched inside and out when they crossed back into the East after they’d moved to the West. Of course, this wasn’t an easy thing to accomplish either, traveling back East after leaving, but they were able to a couple of times because of certain circumstances.

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By: Valerie

Valerie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:38:00 +0000

Thanks for this timely piece Carlo (and Yvonne)! I had a German history professor in college who had been attending university in a West German border town in the 80s, and he had mentioned that by that time, the border would be open briefly on the weekends for East Germans to come over and purchase goods they couldn’t get in the East, like walkmans and bananas (which you’d mentioned weren’t widely available).

I also remember a conversation I once had with a brother and sister (from the former West Germany) who recalled that on their way home from visiting their uncle in West Berlin with their family, police officers would have dogs check under the train to make sure there was no one hiding underneath, trying to escape.

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By: Christine

Christine — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:29:47 +0000

This reminds me a bit of some of my mom’s stories, though her family got out right after the wall was built (there were a few years there where you could still sneak out relatively easily). The most interesting – and profound – perspective to me was when she and I were in Prague a couple of years ago, and went to the Communist museum. With almost all of the propaganda “PSAs” they had there, ones most people would think were crazy, my mom would say, “I remember that!”

My favorite was the American bug (or something like that)…an insect supposedly dropped on the farms of the East by those awful Americans. The kids would go during school to pick the bugs off of the plants. And yep, they had a poster of it at that museum. Classic.

Of course, America had propaganda just as bad!

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By: Carlo Alcos

Carlo Alcos — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:46:57 +0000

Yvonne confirmed that it was indeed the Baltic Sea! She said they used to call it the East Sea, not the North Sea, as was originally posted. I’ve made the change. Thanks for pointing that out!

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By: Hal Amen

Hal Amen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:30:38 +0000

Thanks so much for sharing your memories, Yvonne, and to Carlo for collecting them!

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By: Carlo Alcos

Carlo Alcos — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:24:15 +0000

Thanks for the comments everyone, it was a pleasure to write…I’m still always learning new things about Yvonne!

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By: Carlo Alcos

Carlo Alcos — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:23:19 +0000

Thanks so much for sharing your story. Are you still in Germany? You guys are still top notch at the recycling! There’s like 12 bins you have to decide between to toss things into

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By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:17:48 +0000

Wow. Super interesting. Thanks Carlo and Yvonne.

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By: Abbie

Abbie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:53:51 +0000

How interesting – thanks so much for sharing!

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