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Us Europeans - 1989 testimonials

Growing up in the DDR

Dresden, DE (View on map)
Posted 3 Jul 2008:

Children who grew up in Germany before 1989 had very different childhood bases on whether they were born in West Germany or in East Germany. The general perception of West-Germans is that children in East Germany must have suffered a lot under the poverty. DDR kids had fewer toys and fewer opportunities to go on holiday, but whether they were really unhappier because of that remains hard to say. Eik (29) enjoyed his childhood years and would not have wanted them to be different from what they were. Here`s his story:... Read more

Growing up in the 1980s

Wroclaw, PL (View on map)
Posted 19 Jun 2008:

After visiting six post-communist states and the three Baltic States, I can easily tell that growing up in communism was very different from growing up in the West. Polish `tweenagers` confirm this statement. Please find some Polish childhood memories below:... Read more

L`enfance perdue?

Bratislava, SK (View on map)
Posted 4 Jun 2008:

Out of all subjects I covered during the last ten months, the articles that in some way or another related to the EU were invariably the most boring. People are generally dissatisfied with politics, and whatever happens in Brussels is even futher away from their daily lives. One subject that always gets people to talk is childhood memories. Here`s the Slovakian edition:... Read more

Child in time

Timisoara, RO (View on map)
Posted 24 Mar 2008:

Due to the turbulent history of the country, Romanian youngsters who are now in their twenties have all experienced their share of the communist reality. Some for as much as several years, while others were to young to really get a grasp of what was going on. Nevertheless, the Romanian childhood memories are very different from the ones I described in England and Italy earlier on this trip... Read more

Playing in the streets

Taranto, IT (View on map)
Posted 17 Feb 2008:

Working, eating, sleeping and working. Such is the lifestyle imposed on European young adults. Opting out is unacceptable, both financially and socially. People first need money to save time - then they need money to keep themselves amused during the time they have just saved. Numerous are those who have forgotten a time when they did not need any money at all: relying entirely on social relations and playing away any dull moment they encountered. I hope to find some of that back by asking people in the South of Italy: what is your best childhood memory?... Read more

Childhood memories

Southampton, UK (View on map)
Posted 10 Jan 2008:

Culture and traditions are handed over from generation to generation and the transmission usually starts at very young age. Childhood memories are therefore likely to be very culture-specific ? a good reason to harass some people with the following question: which is your first and/or best childhood memory?... Read more

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