Y

E

A

R

E

V

The Collapse
Of Communism

I

The night the wall was conquered: East German youths help each other climb the Berlin Wall as they celebrate the opening of East
Germany's borders with the west.

Chipping away: Berliners took to chipping pieces of the
Berlin Wall, which were marketed around the world.

A West Berlin boulevard is crowded with
thousands of people, many from East
Berlin. The imminent reunification of East
and West Germany is being observed with
guarded optimism.

t happened so fast, and spread
so rapidly that the full meaning
took time to sink in. But the
scene of East Germans, in effect
dismantling the Berlin Wall on a
cold, winter night and celebrating
with tears and laughter, was
unforgettable.
Ironically, the drama took place on
November 9, echoing a night in
Germany 52 years ago, when syna-
gogues throughout the country were
burned to the ground. That infamous
night came to be known as Krystall-
nacht, the Night of the Burning
Glass, a precursor of the Holocaust
that would leave six million Jews
murdered.
Even today, as East and West Ger-
many finalize reunification, there are
fears that a powerful Germany may
once again turn its military might
on neighboring countries, as has
happened twice in this century, and
that Jews may again fall victim to
German anti-Semitism.
But for the most part those fears
are kept in check amid optimism
that the reunification of
Germany and the collapse of corn-
munism throughout Eastern Europe
will herald a move toward democracy.
Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria,
Poland, Hungary. The list of coun-
tries went on in a dizzying, domino-
like collapse of communist rule.
While Israeli leaders worried about a
powerful new Germany — Prime
Minister Shamir voiced the thoughts
of many when he worried aloud that
Germany may try to destroy Jews
again — they later expressed con-
fidence in a democratic Germany
and welcomed the opportunity to
reestablish diplomatic ties with
much of Eastern Europe.
The larger issue, of course, was the
economic failure of the Soviet Union
and its communist system. Some of
the immediate results were tangible.
Jews were able to leave the USSR in
record numbers and a new sense of
hope emerged from within Eastern
Europe.
But will Israel's strategic value to
the United States be diminished in a
Mideast where the superpowers are
no longer at loggerheads? Will
Washington and Moscow, together,
bring pressure to bear on Israel in
peace negotiations with the Arabs?
Those questions remain in the
background as the world awaits,
with mixed emotions, the resurgence
of Germany and Europe. ❑

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

49

