Some days back, I received an old picture from my friend which was taken at an old conference, one which was held in the city of Prague, Czechoslovakia in October 1989. A close look at the picture (enclosed below) suddenly brought back a host of memories of a time I witnessed a changing World Order
L to R – Prof Lars Broman (Sweden) with whom I worked for Post Doctorate Fellow later, 3rd from left – Prof Nabelek (Czechoslovakia) My host, Extreme Right – Dr Larry Kazmerski, NREL US with whom I have a long collaboration
I was invited to Prague, erstwhile Czechoslovakia to present a paper at an International Solar conference. One evening we were at dinner in our hotel when we heard loud sirens . When we went to look outside, I witnessed a strange sight…
Thousands of East Germans had abandoned their Cars in Prague and were rushing to Western Europe in buses and trains. The sirens were operated by the Czech Police. From what I recall, there were around 200 buses packed speeding down the street with people packed like sardines in them! These buses were moving in a line very close together with the lights on inside them, and as they streaked past us ,they seemed to be a part of a continuous entity like interconnected carriages of a train !
Praha 1989, Na příkopě, u kina Sevastopol by ŠJů licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (People Abandoning their Vehicles and setting off)
The Atmosphere was absolutely charged with the great flurry of activity. Scenes of Migration, Thousands of empty cars on the Road, Emotion in the air and the sound of Sirens in the background….Quite an unforgettable scene. While I may not have been able to predict how a series of incidents would usher in a changing world order in times to come, nevertheless, I felt a slight shiver run down my spine as I realised that I was witnessing history in the making.
Trabbi Prague by Wegmann licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (A 3 Tonne Statue of a Bronze Trabant Car with human feet in Prague symbolically represents the Historic Exodus of the East Germans to West Germany in 1989 while leaving their Cars behind. I found this picture to be very poignant as it brings out the representation of a changing world order )
A Backdrop of the Prevailing Situation :
Towards the latter half of 1989, Prague had become a scene of a rather unusual and mostly forgotten refugee crisis. Easing of some travel restrictions between East Germany and Czechoslovakia wherein East Germans could travel there without Visas set off a chain of events. It all started off when thousands of desperate East Germans seeking to flee their country made their way to the West German Embassy in Prague seeking Refuge there, soon, to be followed by more people trickling in from the borders. With a potential humanitarian crisis looming and World Media talking notice, frantic talks started taking place between East & West Germany and the Czechoslovakian authorities.
Eventually, a short window of time was opened (just around the time when I was visiting) wherein East Germans could use Prague as a passageway to gain entry and potential eligibility for West German Citizenship by simply showing their East German Identity Cards or Passports to the Czechoslovakian border officials. This promoted a frantic mass exodus over a period of just three to four days. While I am not sure of the number, it is believed to be anywhere in the region of 12,000 to 20,000 East Germans who migrated in that period.
The above video showcases some visuals from that period. Please Click Here to visit the original source.
THE Velvet Revolution :
While I knew at that time that I was watching history in the making, I had little idea of the things to come. Change was in the air, it was evident and just about a month from then and not even 200 miles away, the Berlin wall fell on 9th of November 1989. It was one of the most pivotal events in World History of that time and a true mark of a changing world order .
These changing times heralded the beginning of the end of Communist rule in Eastern Europe. Just Nine days after the fall of the Berlin Wall marked an important day in History as it triggered of the “Velvet Revolution “in Czechoslovakia.
Sametova Revoluce 12 by Josef Šrámek ml., CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons via Wikimedia Commons (Scenes from the Velvet Revolution)
Daily mass gatherings by students and other older dissenters eventually culminated in to a nationwideprotest against the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia -demanding an end to a one party rule. Finally, in December 1989, after what is considered a bloodless revolution, the Czechs brought back free elections and democracy to their land after close to fifty years of a Communist Regime.
Havla 1989 by MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons (Vaclav Havel and protesters commemorate the struggle for Democracy at Prague memorial during 1989 Velvet Revolution.)
So much has changed since then. The Czech Republic and Slovakia went on to become different countries in 1993. Germany has risen from strength to strength since then as one unified country. Over Thirty years have passed since and while I have had a chance to visit all these countries again, but, it was only after looking at this picture of me and my colleagues that set off my memory about that particular evening in Prague, an evening where history was being made….As I look back, I truly now grasp the significance of those times!
Do any of you have any close brushes with history. If yes, please write in to us and share your experiences.
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So beautifully expressed and very informative