What Families Pass Down

Conversation with Eyewitnesses Christine and Martin Bartels

How does family shape our view of freedom, solidarity, and democracy? In this conversation with eyewitnesses, Christine Bartels and her son Martin Bartels talk about their life in East Berlin—right next to the Berlin Wall on Brunnenstraße, with a daily view of the border between East and West.

Christine was active in the peace and environmental movements of the GDR and learned firsthand how important courage, community, and dialogue are for social change. Her son Martin was twelve years old when the Wall fell—and suddenly found himself living his youth in a completely new world.

Together, mother and son discuss how political upheavals change families, how democracy begins in everyday life, and why memories of the GDR, the fall of the Wall, and the period of transformation remain important for families even today.
A cross-generational conversation about childhood, freedom, family, and the question: How is the future shaped?

For families with children ages 8 and up

The conversation takes place as part of the Family Night 2026 . Translated with DeepL

Meeting point: Berlin Wall Memorial, Visitor Center, Bernauer Straße 119, 13355 Berlin

Booking: No registration required

Next date:

• Date Saturday, 10/October/2026 19:00 bis 20:30
• Venue Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer
• Address Bernauer Straße 119, 13355 Berlin-Kreisfreie Stadt Berlin