Love Across Borders
East-West couples and their lives together after the fall of the Berlin Wall
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since then, Germany has transformed itself politically, socially, and culturally. But for many Germans, the change has a very different, an intensely private significance. The importance of that now historic event for the affairs of the heart: here is a topic about which Sandra and Stefan can tell us a great deal. “We got to know one another as youngsters, and remained in contact for 40 years!† Back then, Sandra lived in East Berlin and Stefan in Baden-Württemberg. Stefan visited Sandra whenever he could. One day visits to the east were also permitted. The two went on with their lives, each marrying and having children – he in the west, she in the east. Then came the fall of the wall. “It was crazy: finally, we could see one another regularly, but we had built very different lives. And then, as luck would have it, things turned out very differently than expected.† Sandra’s husband passed away, and Stefan became divorced. At long last, the two have become a couple. Their very different biographies have shaped each profoundly, and there remain innumerable minor differences separating “Ossi† from “Wessi.† Today, such differences are dealt with in a more relaxed way. Now, the two want to move to Berlin together. “After so many years, we’re finally going to live together as a couple, isn't it incredible?†
Even today, such German–German partnerships continue to be something special. The very different life experiences of people in the east and west respectively always has an impact on such relationships, are they are an endless topic of discussion.
The film accompanies couples who got known one another both before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, people for whom that momentous happening was not just of enormous political significance, but was also associated with the deeply personal experience of falling in love.
