Polyphemus
Some kind of robot
- Pronouns
- they/them
On the 9th of November, 1989, the border crossing at Bornholmer Straße in Berlin was mobbed by East German citizens. Excitement had grown after announcements of impending easings of passport regulations, which had evolved into rumors of the borders between East and West Germany being opened. Standing orders for the East German border guards were to respond to such provocations with lethal force, and according to some sources the guards at the checkpoint did indeed get into their armory and gear up. However, none of their superiors were willing to give the order to open fire, and none of the border guards themselves were willing to take that responsibility. Eventually, the post commandant Harald Jäger relented and disobeyed orders to open the border gates, allowing free access to West Germany at Bornholmer Straße. It was a crucial step in the peaceful reunification of East and West.
But suppose someone in the chain of command was more a hardliner, less sympathetic. Suppose an overwhelmed border guard starting shooting into the crowd. Suppose any number of things went wrong and a joyful moment of reconciliation turned into a bloodbath.
How do hardliners on either side of the border react? What kind of shadow does this cast over the reunification?
But suppose someone in the chain of command was more a hardliner, less sympathetic. Suppose an overwhelmed border guard starting shooting into the crowd. Suppose any number of things went wrong and a joyful moment of reconciliation turned into a bloodbath.
How do hardliners on either side of the border react? What kind of shadow does this cast over the reunification?