The fall of Berlin Wall on November 9 of 1989 was a pivotal event in modern world history. The Berlin Wall divided East and West Germany. It was built after World War 2. Germany after the war was divided into two with the East under the occupation and administration of erstwhile Soviet forces while West Germany was a republic formed out of the areas occupied by Allied forces. They were practically two different countries that existed from 1949 to 1989. The events that led to the establishment of East and West Germany and the construction of the Berlin Wall is one thing, but how the Berlin Wall was brought down leading to the reunification of Germany, and the end of the Cold War, offers a lesson that we have much to learn from. It was a ‘peaceful revolution’ where the will of the people ultimately prevailed. Of course, there are many factors that contributed to the fall of Berlin Wall but one factor that inspires millions to this day across the world is the ‘peace prayers’ that were held at a church called St. Nicholas Church in East Germany.
East Germany was under the communist regime and there was a policy of ‘state atheism’ where religious freedom was largely curtailed. However, a pastor regularly met with his congregation at St. Nicholas Church for prayers beginning in 1982. Over the next seven years, his congregation grew despite the prevailing law and it is said that he organized peaceful candlelit marches following the church services. The pastor, Christian Führer, first helped organize the ‘peace prayers’ in 1980. Starting September of 1982, the ‘peace prayer’ was held every Monday. In 1989, East German authorities imposed increasing pressure to stop the ‘peace prayers’. However, the Monday prayers continued with an increasing number of attendees. On October 9, 1989, it is said that about 70,000 people following the ‘peace prayer’ on that day demonstrated against the Berlin Wall – successfully and peacefully. ‘No violence’ was their slogan. It is recorded that 3,00,000 people joined the demonstrations. The entire East German revolution remained peaceful and not a single bullet was shot.
We do not expect a parallel event like the fall of the Berlin Wall in Nagaland today. However, the lessons that we can learn from the fall of the Berlin Wall is that the will of the people is supreme and that violence is not the answer to our problems. Further, it proves that there is strength in prayer. We are all struggling against a ‘Berlin Wall’ today – in the form of corruption, extortion, unemployment, tribalism, and other ‘narrow domestic walls’. Is there one pastor among us, like Christian Führer, who will organize ‘peace prayers’ against the ‘walls’? He was a real living person and not a fictional character, an ordinary pastor who led an extraordinary revolution. He organized his ‘peace prayer’ under a communist regime. Hearing stories of pastors like Christian Führer inspire us all no doubt, but it also makes us wonder why we are not blessed with such pastors in our land.