"Why was the Wall built in the first place?" I asked my grandfather. He said: "As so often, it was about power. And freedom." It was good that "Nazi Germany" was defeated in 1945 and that the war ended. But how were things supposed to continue? The countries that had won the war had to reach an agreement. Would it have been possible otherwise? Without dividing Germany and Berlin? I'm not sure. The USA, Great Britain, and France had similar ideas and took care of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Soviet Union received the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Life in the two German parts was very different: People in the West recovered more quickly; they received a lot of help. In supermarkets and shops, almost everything was available again, but not in the GDR. The GDR government was very strict. People weren't allowed to say, for example, if they disagreed with something. If they did, they could go to prison. Many therefore preferred to live and work in the West. The GDR government wanted to prevent this and built the Wall in 1963. "Couldn't you just climb over the wall?" I asked my grandpa. "No," he said, "unfortunately, it was too high, and there were many guards." Dogs were also used as guards there. They only received food every two days and were chained to a steel cable. How sad life must have been for them! The dogs could only move back and forth a maximum of 200 meters. The border was long. Many dogs were needed. Over 4,000 dogs! Mostly German Shepherds, my mother's favorite dogs. When she was six years old, my grandma and grandpa built a house on my great-grandfather's property. It was right next to the wall, and they could often hear the dogs barking at night. They were supposed to sniff out people who might try to climb over the wall. The mere fact that they were there was supposed to deter them. How could that be? Dogs are naturally peaceful and friendly! They are always happy to see people, whether they knew them or not, regardless of where they came from. We should take a leaf out of all dogs' books. And under no circumstances should we force them to chase people who want to be free. Did the chained dogs enjoy guarding the imprisoned people? Absolutely not! They experienced firsthand how lonely and desolate life was along the Berlin Wall. No wonder the area was called the "Death Zone." While searching for the pieces of the Wall that my grandfather kept as a memento of the fall of the Wall, I found a photo of Bessy. My mom always longed for a German Shepherd. When she was my age, her dream came true. That was shortly before the fall of the Wall, which fulfilled the dreams of many people in both East and West Germany. In the photo, you can see Bessy guarding the remains of the Wall along the border strip. She sits there like a living memorial. I think she's telling us with her expressive eyes: "Something like this must never happen again, I'll make sure of it!" We should all be guardians of freedom. Cherish and preserve it. Every dog can be a teacher for us.
