#remember1989 and the Fall of the Iron Curtain

This year sees the 30th anniversary of an extraordinary year - 1989 - when walls crumbled and people of Central and Eastern Europe were united again.

To remember 1989 and its events, we are inviting you to share your memories and impressions in our 'blog parade'. Join us as we commemorate the political and social changes in 1989, the year of the Fall of the Iron Curtain.

People who lived through that year and the following years have diverse and vivid personal memories of that time. 

Join our blog parade

A blog parade is a call out to people interested in this topic who are active bloggers and / or on social media to write about, photograph or share ideas or memories on their blogs / profiles. Our blog parade introduces the topic of 1989: the Fall of the Iron Curtain, and we invite you to share your ideas on your own blog or profiles.

Your posts will contribute to a greater understanding of 1989 and its events, which we will summarise here below and promote through our profiles. 

Everybody can participate in #remember1989. We welcome blogs, tweets, Facebook updates, Instagram posts, personal research, online exhibitions - we look forward to seeing your posts with the hashtag #remember1989

Some questions you might like to think about for your post:

• What do the events of 1989 mean to you?
• How do you remember 1989 - were you a participant, an observer?
• Do / did you live in a country which saw communism fall? What did that mean for you?
• How did 1989 affect you? Your economic situation, education, political views, social life, holidays? 
• What effects from 1989 do we still feel today?
• What role did arts and culture play in 1989?
• From your perspective, what must we remember about 1989? How do we do that today?

We'd love to see your #remember1989 posts any time from now until the end of the year. Don’t forget to tag us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or you can also email editorial@europeana.eu.

1989 memories on Europeana Collections

#remember1989 builds on Europeana 1989, a collaborative project between 11 partner institutions, Historypin and Europeana in 2014, for which members of the public in countries that underwent changes in 1989 shared personal memorabilia and stories from this period.

Among the items shared were underground press (independent newspapers), election leaflets, food stamps, old bank notes, documents and family photos, clothes and toys.

The diversity of the memories captured by the project is amazing - feel free to explore these objects and be inspired for your own posts.

Feel free to use the image below if you write about the blog parade.

Enrich Europeana project will launch a new Transcribathon.eu tool in Vienna on 24 September, with a Mini-Transcribathon in which the international community of Vienna will be invited to enrich crowdsourced materials relating to the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. Read more about the event.

Blog parade

Thank you for sharing your memories, ideas, stories and more with #remember1989.

Below are some blogs, tweets, comments and photographs shared so far.

• A Romanian December that shook the world | Living in Romania

• Das Schweigen wird im November lauter | Nina Süßmilch geht auf die Straße

• We remember the 9th of November: 'Memories' by Alicja Paszek | European Cultural Foundation

• How were the key ideas of November 1989 formed and disseminated? Follow the evolution of the Velvet Revolution in the journal of Julius Koller | Slovak National Gallery

• Bilder, wie ich sie nie wieder machen möchte – Erinnerungen an die Berliner Mauer | Mal Zwetschgenmann - Mal Wassermann

• Op 22 december 1989 klom ik over de Berlijnse Muur [On December 22, 1989 I climbed over the Berlin Wall] | Rolf Blijleven | Loket Diversen

• Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours: Blue, White, Red: symbols of Europe at the end of the 20th century | guest blog by Mikołaj Jazdon, Filmoteka Narodowa–Instytut Audiowizualny | Europeana blog

• The Baltic Way: the day holding hands changed the world | Europeana blog

• Remembering the Baltic Way: Three Nations United in the Face of Repression | Edward Lucas | Europe's Edge

• "Auf einmal wehte der Wind of Change durch die Straßen" ["Suddenly the wind of change blew through the streets"] | Interview with Frank Drauschke | Die Bundesregierung

• Estonian independence still matters | Dr Eurovision | Paul Jordan

• Online meeting: Fall of Berlin Wall, 5 September | EUROCLIO

• Mauerfall: Über den Osten reden | Pierre | Bedeutung Online

• Wie kam es zum Mauerfall, welche Bedeutung und Folgen hatte der Fall der Mauer [How did the fall of the Berlin Wall come about? What significance and consequences did the fall of the Berlin Wall have?] | ScioDoo.de

• From East to West Germany - leaving a country that doesn't exist anymore | Henning

• Objects from 1989 – ​Culture and Politics exhibtion at NationalMuseum Sweden

#remember1989: zum Mauerfall-Jubiläum zeigen wir unter dem Motto #rückblende89? Fotos der Wendezeit aus unserem Portal und teilen Erinnerungen daran. Auch Eure? Alle Infos: https://t.co/uDGh7FuTS0 pic.twitter.com/yllD0TMkX6

— Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (@ddbkultur) November 1, 2019

We remembered the events of 1989 at the Romanian Academy of Sciences at the International Symposium: "The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Romanian revolution of December 1989": https://t.co/qxez3YqAj6 … A piece of the Berlin Wall, was placed in the Academy's yard. #remember1989 pic.twitter.com/1JfM1A6Bk4

— cristina roiu (@cristinaroiu) November 11, 2019

#remember1989 :O bucata din faimosul Zid al Berlinului (donata de Ambasada Germaniei la Bucuresti ) impreuna cu Steagul revolutiei Romane din Decembrie in curtea Academiei Romane , pentru a ne aminti de framantatul an 1989, care a dus la Caderea Cortinei de Fier in Europa de Est. pic.twitter.com/GZhbMK2adp

— cristina roiu (@cristinaroiu) November 11, 2019

How Professor Tannhäuser from the University of Freiberg, lived in Petrosani the events of November 1989 in Germany https://t.co/Aml0DTE19x. In December 1989 the Romanian anticomunist Revolution was the final act of the historical1989 in Eastern Europe .#remember1989 pic.twitter.com/wPS5u9gwyr

— cristina roiu (@cristinaroiu) November 11, 2019

Ich bin in der Nacht vom 9. auf den 10.11. gegen halb zwei aus einer Göttinger Studentenkneipe gekommen und die ganze Jüdenstraße stand voller Trabbis. Heiße Zeit ...

— Stephan Bartholmei (@therealstief) August 14, 2019

Hymn for the Baltic Way, sung by singers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in a concert for #Latvia100 last November. I went to this concert - very powerful performance. https://t.co/4caD1Rx8xL #BalticWay30 #remember1989

— Adrian Murphy (@acediscovery) August 23, 2019

30 years ago #OnThisDay 2 million people joined hands to demonstrate for the independence of the Baltic States. Frank Drauschke took these photos in #Riga on 23/08/1989 https://t.co/p9BG1N68nM #BalticWay @Europeanaeu @Europeana1989 #BalticWay30 #remember1989 pic.twitter.com/yAEXWZhEmQ

— Facts & Files (@FFHistorians) August 23, 2019

#BalticWay30 August 23’d thirty years apart - FREEDOM ✌️✌️✌️ won! ?????? https://t.co/SvtGecIgjM… via @Europeana1989 pic.twitter.com/PWmx5QZ1ym

— Veiko Spolitis (@VeikoSpolitis) August 23, 2019

Today, we commemorated the Baltic Way in Washington, DC. As demonstrated by Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians 30 years ago, hope and courage can defeat fear and despair. Thats something worthwhile remembering every day. pic.twitter.com/29BTPsuoq7

— Jonatan Vseviov (@vseviov) August 23, 2019

We are proud and thankful for hundreds of people who braved the heavy rain today &came to honor the legacy of the #BalticWay, &celebrated freedom with us! It was a great celebration for the great cause! The legacy & spirit of the Baltic Way is everlasting!THANK YOU pic.twitter.com/aRAT3gExte

— Embassy of Lithuania (@LTembassyUS) August 24, 2019

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Today in 1989 more than two million people joined hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometres across the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as a peaceful protest against the USSR. After 30 years my mother still kept a flower tiara that I made from the flowers nearby that road. #remember1989 #težydilaisvė #baltijoskelias #1989 #balticstates #baltics #memories #independance #lithuania #lithuaniangirl #lietuva #nepriklausomybė #nepriklausomybėveža #thebalticchain #balticway30 #balticway

A post shared by Evy (@eev1e) on Aug 23, 2019 at 12:04am PDT