WEIMAR, Nov. 9, 2013 – Bathed in the quiet of early evening, we were snug at our computers when the bell went “klingel.” Our dearest Weimar friends, Gudrun and Jochen, rushed in and said, “Get your coats on and come.”
After 12 years of friendship, we know not to argue with them. When they say “go,” it’s always to experience something weighty or inspiring.
Tonight it was both. One hundred yards into our dash into the Old Town, we heard the bells. It was 6 p.m., and they were sounding at full blast. All of the bells—the Herderkirche, the Jakobkirche, and the big bells up in the City Tower.
Seventy-five years ago the terrifying crime known as Kristallnacht broke out in different parts of Germany. Supporters of Hitler’s National Socialism smashed windows of shops and homes belonging to Jews. The crystal shards of glass that glittered on the streets were pointing to a future where incomprehensibly cruel force would decimate the soul of Europe.
Yet another event was being celebrated. On this night, 24 years ago, the Wall came down. Yes, that symbol of a divided Germany, the Berlin Wall, fell in a cloud of celebration. The inhumane domination of the Eastern half of Europe was ending.
So the bells rang here in Weimar, the birthplace of the Republic dismantled by Hitler. Weimar was part of the territory traded to Russia in exchange for a chunk of Berlin. So it, and our friends, languished behind the Iron Curtain – until November 9, 1989.
We walked from square to square, hearing the different acoustics as the peals bounced off of Renaissance façades and cobblestoned streets. Individuals were walking through the squares, too, ringing small bells. But the mood was subdued. Should we feel sorrow or joy? That is the question the bells were asking
There is no simple response to the weight of history. But we can learn invaluable standing with close friends whose connection to those events is quite different from our own.