French President Nicolas Sarkozy shared his memories of the fall of the Berlin Wall, telling his Facebook fans he chipped away at the concrete slabs with a pickaxe on Nov. 9, 1989.
Sarkozy posted his personal account before heading to Berlin to join European leaders for joyous celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the wall.
The president recounted that he traveled to Berlin from Paris on the morning of Nov. 9 after hearing the first news reports of the mass influx of East Germans to West Berlin.
Then a 34-year-old member of parliament, Sarkozy was with other French politicians who headed straight for the Brandenburg gates “where an enthusiastic crowd had gathered to welcome the looming opening of the Wall.”
“We then headed for Checkpoint Charlie to see the eastern side of the city and finally confront this wall and I was able to take a pickaxe to it,” recounted Sarkozy.
“Around us, families were gathering to knock down the cement. Some shared their feelings with us, their new ambitions and their emotions after decades of separation,” he added.
“The night continued in a climate of general enthusiasm: the German people were reunited, heralding the end of the Cold War and the beginning of a period of great freedom in Europe.
“It is this freedom that we are still defending in Europe and that we are celebrating 20 years on,” wrote Sarkozy.
A picture of a younger Sarkozy standing next to an unidentified man and chipping away at the graffiti-pocked Berlin Wall was posted on his Facebook page.
(AFP)
法國總統尼可拉斯．薩柯茲在Facebook上和粉絲分享他對柏林圍牆倒塌的記憶，他說一九八九年十一月九日那天，他用一把尖鋤敲鑿了這面水泥牆。
薩柯茲前往柏林和歐洲眾領袖一同參加柏林圍牆倒塌二十週年紀念活動前，在Facebook 的個人檔案上張貼了這則訊息。
薩柯茲敘述，一九八九年十一月九日早上，他一看到新聞報導說有大批東德民眾湧進西柏林後，就起身從巴黎前往柏林。
當時三十四歲、擔任國會議員的薩柯茲，和其他法國政治圈的友人直接殺到布蘭登堡門，「那裡早已聚集了一群熱情的民眾，等著迎接柏林圍牆開放」。
薩柯茲描述：「然後我們前往查理檢查哨，看看東柏林的情況，最後來到這面牆前，用尖鋤在上面又敲又鑿。」
他補充說：「在我們四周，許多家庭一起敲打這面水泥牆。有些人和我們分享他們的觀感、新的抱負，以及分離數十年後的激動心情。」
「那晚瀰漫著熱血沸騰的氛圍：兩德人民再度重逢，這宣告冷戰結束、歐洲大自由時代的來臨。
薩柯茲寫道：「我們歐洲人至今仍致力捍衛的正是『自由』，而這也是我們二十年來所頌揚的價值。」
張貼在Facebook的照片中，年輕的薩柯茲站在一名身份不詳的男子身旁，拿著尖鋤敲打滿是塗鴉的柏林圍牆。
（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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