Ursula Bach was 18 years old… and six months pregnant… when she heard the news.
It was August 13, 1961. And East Germany’s government started building a wall to separate East Berlin from West.
Moreover, tens of thousands of East German troops had been deployed overnight to suppress protests and erect makeshift barricades to prevent people from leaving.
Ursula Bach had crossed the border back in May, rightaroundthe time that East Germany’s leader quipped, “Nobody has the intention of building a wall…”
And then it happened. Her world changed overnight.
Ursula’s fiance Fried (the father of their child) was still in East Berlin. And she knew that she would never see him again.
Their son Andreas was 28 years old before the wall came down; he grew up never knowing his father, even though Fried technically only lived a few blocks away. But he might as well have been on Mars.
There are countless other stories like this from the days of the Berlin Wall– families torn apart and separated for decades.
Obviously what’s happening today is nowhere near as heinous as the Berlin Wall. But it’s difficult to ignore the whispers of history.
Australia is a unique example, with some of the most severe Covid protocols on the planet.
The entire state of New South Wales (population: 7.4 million) was locked down a few weeks ago because 4 people died of Covid.
In the neighboring state of Victoria, Emperor Dan Andrews announced yet another lockdown on August 21. It was originally supposed to end on September 2, but the Emperor has predictably extended the lockdown for several more weeks.
Some Australians are starting to realize the truth– even when certain restrictions are eased, they’re never quite ‘out’ of lockdown; they’re merely ‘in between’ lockdowns.
The most notable example, however, may be the border between the states of Queensland and New South Wales.
The town of Coolangatta is on the Queensland side of the border, while the town of Tweed Heads is on the New South Wales side.
The two towns, along with other nearby suburbs, are essentially a continuous amalgamation of the Gold Coast metropolitan area. For years you could have driven from one town to the other, and technically crossed over the state border, without ever realizing it.
It’s like how Kansas City straddles both Kansas and Missouri; in fact parts of downtown Kansas City are in both states.
But then along came Australia’s Covid hysteria… and suddenly a border was erected.
Along Dixon Street (aka ‘the state line’) in Coolangatta, the government has erected a temporary ‘wall’.
It’s not exactly a Berlin Wall, with mine fields, reinforced concrete, and machine gun nests; actually the ‘Great Wall of Coolangatta’ (as it’s known) consists mostly of bright orange construction barriers.
But it’s a wall, nevertheless, designed to keep all of those filthy, diseased Australians from crossing the border. God forbid they’re able to walk over to Moxy’s Rooftop Bar on Dixon Street.
This past Sunday was Father’s Day in Australia. This would normally be a time when children take their dads out for brunch, and express their love and appreciation.
But just like Berlin in the 1960s, there are local families in Australia that are now separated by the Great Wall of Coolangatta.
Many Australians reached their breaking points on Sunday, defying lockdown orders so that they could meet with family members who lived across the state line.
They met at the Wall… fathers on one side, their children on the other.
Honestly it’s heartbreaking to see kids passing gifts across the wall to their dads and trying to steal a hug. Yet this is the depth to which Western civilization has declined in 2021.
Highlighting the decline was Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who broke quarantine in the capital city so that he could fly home to Sydney and see his own kids for Father’s Day.
Regular Australians weren’t allowed to do this.
But it’s all good, because the Prime Minister received special permission from federal health authorities. He’s an “essential worker”, so the rules don’t apply to him.
That’s another interesting historical parallel to East Germany, by the way. As regular people suffered, the party bosses and political elite enjoyed lavish lifestyles… because the rules never applied to them.
It’s important to note that Australia’s Covid statistics are similar to the rest of the world’s; mortality rates are much higher among people who are older or unhealthy.
In fact, today’s data from Australia’s Department of Health show that 91% of Covid deaths were over the age of 70.
And the Covid mortality rate for people under 50, i.e. those in their prime learning or working years, is just 0.04%. Specifically there have been 16 Covid deaths out of 47,897 confirmed cases among Australians under the age of 50.
Tens of millions of people have lost their freedom as a result of those 16 deaths.
By comparison, in the state of Victoria alone, there were over 700 suicides just last year, and nearly 900 in New South Wales.
As a final point, I’ll mention that Ursula Bach’s finace Fried had the opportunity to travel with her to West Berlin back in 1961. But he chose not to.
Fried was a staunch Communist. He believed the East German propaganda. He was a fanatic, and he chose to stay.
But like all Communist fanatics, Fried eventually realized that the totalitarian dream was really a nightmare. He had his awakening. Yet by then it was too late.
Similarly, there are people all over the world who are Covid fanatics. They believe in the totalitarian dream. They love lockdowns and mandates.
They say things like “Your liberty affects my health.” (Direct quote from US Senator Mitt Romney)
Eventually they too will come around. Eventually they’ll realize that things have gone way too far. Almost everyone will.
But just like Ursula Bach’s fiance, by then it will be too late… because once freedom is surrendered, it’s almost impossible to reclaim.
