The Cold War

As a child growing up in Turkey during the height of the Cold War, I didn't comprehend the adult philosophies of governmental rule, but I did have fear of one word, Communism.
In my child's mind Communism meant you could not go to church. There may have been many a Sunday I begged to stay home in my warm bed, but the thought that I couldn't go to church if I was Communist was frightening.
Living next door to the East German Embassy was terrifying. Everything about it seemed evil from the imposing black iron fence to the guards and their German Shepards we could spy through the bows of the thick pine grove within.
When my mother traveled with the Girl Scout's to West Germany to meet the father of Anne Frank, I thought for sure she would never return. I can remember vividly begging her not to get too close to the "Iron Curtain" for fear it would come down on the wrong side of her keeping her from me forever.
The ravages of World War II were still very much a part of daily lives in the early Sixties. Countries were not developed, poverty lay naked on the streets of the capitol city, Ankara. Men without limbs on rolling platforms would find their way to our door begging for change. Children should not see the ravages of war, and yet they always do.
Do you think it is coincidence that I should marry a man who has stood in front of my very apartment building and could witness for himself the stark environment that holds my child's heart?
I married a man who traveled behind the Iron Curtain before it was lifted and came home to me each and every time.
I married a man who was there to see the Iron Curtain come down forever. Yesterday was a joyful day in celebration of all of the young children who do not have to live in fear of the Berlin Wall. Still there are still children who should not see the ravages of war, and yet they do. My prayer today is for those children.

These photographs were taken last month by my husband on a business trip to Berlin. He has vivid memories of Check Point Charlie during his time in the military. The sight of the American flag and the soldiers guarding the point of entry were reminders of our freedoms at home.