Family History

In the early 1980s, Germany was being still separated by the Berlin Wall. However, it was the Cold War that had brought my parents together.

Before meeting my father, my mother was born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden. In the late 1970s, my mother became a diplomat for the Swedish Embassy based in Stockholm, Sweden. As a diplomat, my mother had to plan functions while working for the ambassador. In addition, all diplomats must take part in working abroad. Thus, for my mothers' first posting abroad, she was sent to Berlin, Germany where the shadow of the Berlin Wall loomed over everyone's head. 

Born in Kenya, Africa but raised in London, England my father became a British army officer after graduating from the University of Newcastle. In the mid-1980s, my father's regiment was stationed in Berlin, Germany. 

The details of what my parents had to do continue to remain blurry. My mother is still not allowed to say what it is that she had to do. I can only assume that her assignments had to be kept in absolute secrecy if it meant that on a few occasions she had been followed around by spies. The same can be said about my father's military business. The only detail that he has told my siblings and I are that he spent a lot of time around Checkpoint Charlie, the crossing point between East and West Berlin.

My parents had met in a bar somewhere in Berlin. I guess you can call it "love at first sight" when my father saw my mother sitting inside. Together, they both witnessed history as President Ronald Reagan called for the tear down of the wall in 1987. In addition, my family also possesses a piece from the wall after it was finally torn down. When my mother and father wanted to get married, my mother's occupation would not allow it. As a result, she had to leave her job and my parents have been happily married for 24 years.

 I had decided to dedicate a blog entry to my parents because I always enjoy listening when they reminisce about their time in Berlin during the Cold War. What makes it more fascinating is that it has been nearly 30 years and I am still not able to learn what it is that my mother had to do.