BERLIN, Germany - The fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago was quite clearly a big deal for Berlin, Germany and the whole world. But it was something truly special for German pilots like Matthias Dolderer, who was a teenager in 1989 when the Berlin Wall unexpectedly burst open. During the Cold War, aircraft from West Germany were not allowed to fly to West Berlin and there were all sorts of flying restrictions to the island of democracy isolated in the middle of Communist East Germany.
Dolderer, who just finished a successful rookie year in the Red Bull Air Race, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with his 82 million compatriots on 9 November. Berlin has also hosted a Red Bull Air Race - at Tempelhof Airport in 2006. The airport was used during the Allied Air Lift by Western allies Britain, France and the United States who kept West Berlin free during the Soviet blockade at the start of the Cold War.
"I was 19 years old at the time the Wall fell and we were very happy that the Iron Curtain came down in Berlin and that Germany reunited about a year later without a war," Dolderer said as he watched the anniversary celebrations in Berlin. "The end of the Cold War was a big step forward for Europe."
The peaceful revolution that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago is something Germans are truly proud of - especially after the turbulence of the 20th century before that.
"We were divided for 40 years before the Wall fell and now we've been back together for 20 years," said Dolderer, who lives in the southern German town of Tannheim. "I think that shows that you should never give up. You should always keep the faith. There was a song at the time from the Scopions called 'Wind of Change'. It was inspired by reunification. It's one of the greatest hits of all time and one of my favourite songs."
Dolderer's flying career also took off after that. He won the German ultralight championship held in Berlin in 1991 when he was 20.
"I was so proud to win the German championship in ultralight flying in our new capital city on an airfield was was in east German before that," Dolderer said. "It was good to experience all the change of that era and to see how everything is possible."
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