Tracing the events of 1989

On 30 August, the Freedom Express started its journey through Eastern and Central Europe, wrapping up last week in Berlin after travelling through Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Germany. Neil Bates of Europeana boarded the Freedom Express study trip as a participant and an ambassador for Europeana. Born in 1986, Neil was only 3 years old when the defining events of 1989 took shape; in this blog post he briefly shares his experiences and reflections on the historic journey that traced those events, 25 years on.

Map of the journey together with a group picture of the Freedom Express particpants standing in front of a section of the Berlin Wall at the East Side Gallery. Photograph by Krzysztof Dobrogowski / ENRS

In July, I was excited to learn that I was one of the lucky ones to be asked to join this trip along with 19 other young Europeans. The European Network of Remembrance and Solidarity organised the study trip with the aim of tracing the historical events of 1989, a year that transformed Europe. Twenty-five years on from those generation-defining events that triggered the collapse of Communism in Europe, the organisers want to start discussions about that watershed. During the two weeks, I was honoured to meet with the key protagonists and witnesses of the events of 1989 from the perspective of the different revolutions across the region. Some of those people who I had the opportunity to sit down with included a number of Gdansk shipyard workers, members of the Polish Trade Union, organisers of the Pan-European Picnic and a number of prominent political scientists and historians. Thanks to the 89 Voices project that I have been working on for Europeana 1989, during the trip I was eager to delve into the past through the untold stories from people who lived through this period. Through Europeana 1989, I have developed a strong interest in firsthand memory preservation through audio recordings and photography. That is why I created 89 Voices, an oral history project that in conjunction with Europeana 1989 aims to record and preserve 89 fascinating firsthand accounts from individuals who experienced the fall of communism and the reunification of Europe. While on the trip, I was able to preserve new stories for the 89 Vocies project, which will be posted in the coming weeks. One that stands out most for me is a memory that I recorded while in Romania. In the story, Brindusa Armanca describes the memory of how her family got caught up in the Romanian revolution in Timisoara. However, at the end of the recording she shares her most emotional memory, when she bore witness to the death of a woman on the streets during the protests. She recalls; ‘When I worked as a journalist, I researched who she was, and now I know. I went to the cemetery and put a flower on her grave. Even if only one person had died in the revolution, somebody has to be punished for that death.’ Aside from being able to discuss the events of 1989 with the people that were not only there, but helped shape those important events, we also had the opportunity to meet current thought leaders and politicians to discuss the impact of those events on the world today, such as Ma?gorzata Omilanowska, Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland, and members of the Hungarian Parliament. We, as participants, were encouraged to think about solidarity and discuss how we think the movement has shaped the world today, and how as young Europeans, we can ensure the legacy and spirit of solidarity continues for future generations. Through these discussions and sometimes debates, we have all shared our thoughts, opinions, experiences and general reflections on a specially created collaborative blog, which I encourage you to explore. Where the iron curtain once stood: Neil stands on the Hungarian-Austrian border near the town of Sopron, the location of the Pan-European. Europeana (CC-BY-SA) For a full run down of what happened on the trip, you can read the blog posts that I have written for the Europeana blog. These posts pick out highlights from the trip and showcase what happened in each of the countries that we visited. We were filmed by a documentary crew who followed us for the entire journey and recorded our reflections on freedom and solidarity. The Freedom Express documentary is due to be premiered in Warsaw in February 2015. In the meantime, ARTE TV will be screening a short programme on 27 September. This short documentary follows the journey through two of the participants, who share their experiences during the trip. I was one of those selected for the ARTE TV documentary; so I invite you to tune in on 27 September to hear me share some of my thoughts about the experience.