I remember well hearing the DDR national anthem for the first time in my life and thinking this was one of the most beautiful songs I ever heard. I was 7 years old, from a country that was even further to the East in both literal and symbolic sense, and I understood nothing: neither the lyrics nor the deeper meaning they conveyed or what they by then stood for. Today I still consider it to be a beautiful and wise song and hear it with profound sadness. What it stands for for me is a noble idea - a classless society, peace and decent living for all - which is doomed from the start. Its bound to fail because whatever we think we are, we are first and foremost a species that loves nothing more than to be better than others and to be right. The bigger our influence, the greater our ruthlessness in quieting any protests. And if we must humiliate or even torture millions to prove our point, we very much will. On October 7th, 1949 the German Democratic Republic, the DDR, was born. The Workers and Farmers Paradise that turned into Hell for many. Still, one should not deny it, not attempt to erase its existence from history. Out of respect for those millions of Germans for whom it happened to be Home.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 20:46:05 +0000
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