Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and end to Germany's Iron Curtain, David Molyneaux returns for the celebrations. This is his seventh blog.
Eastern Germans remember 1989 as the year of the big surprise.
Decades had rolled by without much reason for hope of democracy. Then, in a matter of months, the old East German regime fell apart, and freedom arrived overnight.
Most of the world did not know in 1989 that the Cold War of more than four decades was crawling toward an end. The Soviet Union -- a collection of countries tied forcibly to communist Moscow after World War II -- was collapsing economically, though that, too, was kept under wraps.
Meanwhile, the people of Soviet-dominated countries such as East Germany, kept taking baby steps toward freedom.
Libraries, churches, enemies of the state
In January 1989, for instance, Ralf Paesler, an Eisenach environmentalist, decided with his friends to smuggle two big suitcases of books by train from West Germany into East Germany to start a library in Eisenach.
"Libraries were prohibited," said Paesler. "We opened the library and waited for the explosion that never came."
In nearby Hungary, which also was behind the Iron Curtain, power was shifting away from the communists, and borders to Austria were less guarded. East Germans began escaping to the west through Hungary.
And In Leipzig, a famed university city deep inside East Germany, rebellious-thinking locals gathered for prayers every Monday at Saint Nicholas Church. In November, their prayers were answered.
Praying at Saint Nicholas
The crowd at Saint Nicholas Church grew bigger that fall of 1989 as each Monday, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., residents talked openly and prayed for change in East Germany.
Some spoke over a microphone about their hopes for freedom from secret police and the repressive government.
Johann Sebastian Bach was choir master and organist at Saint Nicholas, above, 1723 - 1750.
They knew the Stasi were watching and listening. After the meetings, outside the church, the Stasi would tell them not to congregate, to go home.
"The size of our meetings grew from a few, to dozens, to hundreds, eventually to thousands of people from all over East Germany," said Birgit Scheffle, who now works as a tour guide.
A prayer group grows to 70,000 people
On Monday, Oct 9, 1989, suddenly 70,000 people showed up at Saint Nicholas Church for a prayer meeting that became a march, demonstrating support for a more democratic East Germany.
Among them was Birgit Scheffle (left).
"We all carried lighted candles," said Scheffle. The candles had a pacifying impact on the soldiers, she said.
"When you walk with a lighted candle you must use both hands. One hand holds the candle, the other keeps the flame from going out. So, you cannot throw a stone at soldiers, and soldiers can see that you cannot throw a stone.
"That day marked the beginning of the end of East Germany."
Soldiers were ready, but not for candles
"The peaceful revolution was on its way," said Scheffle. "There were so many demonstrators that everyone feared violence. The key was peaceful demonstrations, because the soldiers were ready to shoot. Everyone expected blood.
"The soldiers were ready for everything, but not that people would come with candles and prayers."
The following Monday night, on Oct. 16, 300,000 people showed up for the protest walk around downtown Leipzig.
Police watched, but did not shoot. Then the world watched as protests expanded to cities all over East Germany. On Nov. 9, 1989, daring East Germans decided to cross borders into West Germany. They demanded gates be opened, and they were. In Berlin, people scaled the wall and dropped to the other side. Nobody shot at them.
All's quiet on the Leipzig front
Nearly 20 years later, on a Friday evening in 2009, classic rock music and the buzz of free-spirited conversation among young adults set a casual, comfortable tone in Leipzig.
I was dining at Spizz, a popular restaurant in the heart of downtown, just off Market Square, only a few blocks from Saint Nicholas Church.
At my table, a candle glowed softly in a red glass.
I was reminded of the night in October 1989 when 70,000 people united to walk their dream, peacefully but insistantly, inspiring comrades from all over East Germany to join in making that dream a reality.
Information on Planning a trip to Germany
Also from Berlin: Coffee at Brandenburg Gate
To read the entire series: Back in Berlin again, 20 years after the fall of the wall Poking about pieces of the old Berlin Wall Guns, dogs, and fear along the old Iron Curtain When East met West on peaceful soil in 1989 Lies and dreams east of the old Iron Curtain
