Fragility

As the month of November arrives it is impossible in Germany not to reflect on the days twenty-five years ago. On the 30th of October we had seen on television three hundred thousand take to the streets in Leipzig demanding reform, chanting "Wir sind das Volk". And they were not hindered by the East German police or security forces.

Less than a fortnight earlier, on the first birthday of our daughter Jessica, her parents were unable to remain seated when the newsreader announced that Erich Honecker had been replaced. With our baby in our arms we stood in a dazed embrace in the middle of the living room of our Munich aoartment. This was not the only 'group hug' in the amazing days which followed. 

The art installation of eight thousand illuminated balloons is to trace the path of the Berlin Wall. I like the fragility of the tethered inflatables, as fragile as our hopes twenty-five years ago for a peaceful outcome of the momentous events which had been set in motion.