“I moved to Germany ten years ago. My parents were already here. I came a later point. …I was astounded at the differences between the stories told by those I interviewed. Naturally, these differences relate to the differences in biographies and paths to Germany, whether they were former contract workers from North Vietnam or as refugees from South Vietnam. I was very surprised to hear a former contract worker tell me that he before his arrival he didn’t know that Berlin too was divided. …Interestingly, he never thought about the wall or that it might no longer exist one day. For him the wall was something permanent, something that had always existed. The interviews were a lot of fun. I participated in the stories and memories of those I interviewed in a way normal conversation rarely allows.”
Hang Ho, 26, history student at Humboldt University
“During the course of the interviews I often noticed how feeling and reflection took place in those who experienced the fall of the wall firsthand. On the one hand, many felt threatened by the sudden growth in population, and many lost their jobs. On the other hand, this experience helped them identify with the East Germans, who they came to feel closer to than those from the West. I often heard people say things like this: “The East Germans were second-class citizens. But once the East Germans came, we were third-class citizens.” Or like this: “They didn’t have much; they had to make do with less, just like us.” I found it very interesting the way East Germans were at once friend and foe for the Turks.”
Verda Sindiran, 31, architecture student at the Technische Universiät Berlin
Interview Huong Co 
