Reflections of The Wall Jumper

The book The Wall Jumper raises several issues about life in Berlin during the era of the Berlin Wall. The author really begins to shed light on how people went about their daily lives during this time. There were definitely strong attitudes amongst the people of the East and West that were described throughout the different stories. Surprisingly, it seemed that the attitudes of Easterners towards the Westerners and vice versa were very similar in nature. For example, the author accompanied his girlfriend to her family’s house in the East. They would talk about how bad life was on their side of the wall, and the girlfriend would reply with comments about how bad life was in the West. It seems that everyone thought that they were worse off than the others were. As the author jumps around from story to story, one thing that is fairly consistent is the depression among the people. Trying to imagine the people he describes in the airport, train stations, bars, etc., they all seem full of despair. I think the attitudes that the people had and the depression they were experiencing were major parts of why people began to jump the Wall – thinking life must be greener on the other side.

Another interesting point the author touches on is the idea of state versus fatherland and people as a nation versus political boundaries. He basically says that the state in which the Germans belong has not been old enough to call their fatherland, but their fatherland is no longer a state. Stating that you are German is a more of a statement of your people group and language rather than the political boundaries in which you live. I feel like at that time the Germans were at a loss for a national identity. One day you live in the same city and down the street from your family, and the next you live in two different countries. This separation wasn’t a choice for the people - they couldn’t choose whether to be an East German or West German based on their own political view points. In America, if we don’t like the way a city or state is run politically, we have the freedom to pick up and move somewhere else that is better suited (although that is not quite as extreme of a situation as Communism versus Capitalism). I feel that being an American has different connotations that the notion of what language you speak. The US is such a melting pot that you can speak any language and call yourself American. I feel that our nationality has more to do with boundaries and paper work than a people group. This has its advantages and disadvantages. I think this ideal may be the stem of our lack of national unity whereas Germans seem to be more unified as a nation because of their language, people group, and history that they have endured and overcome together.