We Are The People

The center piece of this picture is a wise saying from Africa that is painted on some remaining parts of the Berlin Wall that can be seen visiting the East Side Gallery in Berlin.“Viele kleine Leute, die in vielen kleinen Orten, viele kleine Dinge tun, können das Gesicht der Welt verändern”, which translates into: “Many small people who in many small places do many small things can alter the face of the world”.On the night of 9November 1989, this wise sayingfrom Africa became reality. It was the night that changed not only German history, but also the history of Europe.In early October, the revolution of the small peoplehad reached a milestone that was to lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall only a few weeks later. On 9 October the residents of Leipzig had joined together in the largest protest demonstration East Germany had ever seen. Between 70,000 and 100,000 peaceful demonstrators had taken to the streets with banners saying “We are the people” – in spite of warnings from the feared Stasi, the secret police, not to march around the city center. Although the demonstrators were in fact surrounded by thousands of armed riot police, in the end nothing happened, setting the stage for the peaceful revolution that then swept across East Germany.Following these events on television left a lot of people breathless and in fear because nobody could predict the outcome of the demonstrations. Only a month earlier, people that spoke up against the system were being sent to prison.In the end the small people succeeded and changed the face of the world.