of European unity. The European Union, based on the foundations of the Treaty of Rome, has shown that the countries of Europe have learnt the right lessons from the horrors of two world wars. In 1957, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer ensured that the treaties enshrined the full membership of the East Germans in the case of reunification. This turned the intention behind the preamble to the German constitution, which refers to acting on behalf of those who have been prevented from participating, into a practical policy. As a result, the German question always remained on the agenda, because it was also one of the keys to overcoming the division of Europe. The two things are inextricably linked: the war which was started and lost by Germany and the IronCurtain which divided Europe.
One particularly tragic aspect of this was that those people who were particularly hard hit by the Iron Curtain were the same people who had suffered most under National Socialism. Neither the uprisings in East Berlin in 1953 and in Poland and Hungary in 1956, nor the Prague Spring of 1968, succeeded in seriously shaking the foundations of communist rule. However, from this moment on, many people across the Eastern bloc states knew that the system that we lived under could not be reformed, but only overcome. This insight represented a bleak hope which we continued to cherish in the face of difficult circumstances and the behaviour of those in power, but which most people, including me, believed would not be fulfilled in their lifetimes.
Freedom