My grandmother once told me that she travelled to Rostock 50 years ago from Western Germany. With Rostock being in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania which is on the territory of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), travelling there was not easy for her. She had to get a visa and take her passport with her to be able to get to Rostock and most importantly get back to Western Germany later on. When I travelled there from South Western Berlin (not a Part of the former GDR) recently, on June 9th 2022, I did not need to have a passport with me, nor a visa, nor did I have to cross strikt controls at an enormous wall, nor anywhere else. I just hopped on a train and went there. In Ukraine it might seem impossible to think about peace and pacifism at the moment, but 50 years ago it seemed to be only natural that one would need a passport to visit another part of its own country for Germans too. Being born in 2004, 15 years after the Berlin wall fell, I could never imagine being that restricted. Babies born in Ukraine 15 years from now will probably have a similar experience not being able to imagine a war against Russia. Violence and injustice always seem to be strong, but as history has shown, fortunately, never last long. Patience and hope always do.
David
