The 30th anniversary of the end of the division of Germany is upon as, and with it has co e the usual flood of articles. Here are a couple that I found interesting- ones that tell more of a story than “things happened and people were very excited about it.”
From the conversation- an article looking at the divisions that still exist within the new nation, and exploring the roots of how the process of reunification served to cement these in place.
And here is an interview with the last leader of the DDR, who was thrust into the chaos of the ending, who tells a compelling story of how the drift from democratisation to annexation took place.
A young female I worked with back in the mid 2000s said that “Ronald Reagan brought down the Berlin Wall!” She was in her mid-20s, and raised by KY Republicans. And a really snotty little bitch, too.
In condemning Trump, it falls back on some of the clearest examples of American triumphalism and hubris that helped fuel the current situation. I’m almost impressed at the lack of self-examination displayed by an author who could rail against Russian foreign policy as “chauvinistic, neo-imperialistic… irredentism” before noting the comparison with the Monroe Doctrine. The obvious, and unquestioned subtext being “Of course the USA has the right to a global Empire,and how dare any other country have interests beyond its borders.”