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In the early 1900s until 1914, or thereabouts, Samoa , formerly known as Western Samoa, was once ruled by Germany. Under Germany’s rule, our islands were called German Samoa. It has left a lifelong legacy of German Samoan  family names such as Shultz, Schwalger, Schwencke, Wendt, Keil…the list goes on. Let us know if your name is one of them and we’ll add them to the list here.

It is with that history in mind that we publish this post.

We celebrate Germany’s 20th anniversary since the Berlin Wall was taken down in 1989.  For those too young to remember the significance of the Berlin Wall, here’s a quick history lesson. On the morning of 13th August 1961, Berliners woke up to find their city had been divided by a barbed wire barrier fence that stretched for 96 miles (155 kms).

14th August 1961: Two little girls in a West German street chat with their grandparents in the window of their home in the eastern zone, separated only by a barbed wire barricade. It was later built into concrete.

It had been erected by soldiers during the night as the city sleep.

The way that barrier divided the city, it permanently separated families and employees from their workplaces, even halved cemeteries, if it happened to be located on the opposite side of the barrier. Under communist rule, the barrier divided  the city into two:East and West Berlin.

Aug 26 1961: Two mothers can only wave to their children and grandchildren in the Soviet sector of Berlin from across the Berlin wall. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

From that day on, until 9 November 1989 at 10.30pm,  East Germans were forbidden to travel freely across to the West, something they had done before the Wall went up. It was a dangerous time to be living in  East Berlin. Border guards patrolled the East side of the Berlin Wall day and night. Over 100,000 citizens tried to escape to the West. Several hundred of them were reportedly shot and killed by border guards.

Here are photos of today’s anniversary and the speech by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

BERLIN – NOVEMBER 09: Spectators watch as giant, painted styrofoam dominoes topple along the route of the former Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg Gate on November 9, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. The approximately 1,000 dominoes, painted by schoolchildren and artists all over the world, are meant to symbolically represent the end of communist rule across Eastern Europe and are the highlight of celebrations in the German capitol marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

BERLIN – NOVEMBER 09: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reviews an honour guard carrying torches at Bellevue Castle on November 9, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. The city of Berlin is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which led to the end of communist rule in East Germany and later on the reunification of East and West Germany, with a spectacular event at the Brandenburg Gate and the participation of international leaders.

Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate Celebration

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Brandenburg Gate
Berlin, Germany
November 9, 2009

Good evening, Berlin. (Applause.) It is indeed an honor and a great personal privilege to be here on behalf of President Obama and the United States of America – (applause) – to commemorate with you that night 20 years ago when history broke through concrete and barbed wire and signaled a new dawn, not just for the people of Berlin, not just for the people of Germany, but for the entire world. And that night, that night was built by the efforts, the prayers, and the work of so many.

We remember the allies who conducted the largest humanitarian airlift in history, completing more than a quarter million flights to sustain the people of West Berlin. We remember the Poles – (applause) – who waged a campaign for liberty that began with a strike in the shipyards of Gdansk and ended by shattering a system of tyranny. We remember a Polish Pope who spoke out for the aspirations of people across Europe and the world. (Applause.) We remember the people of the Baltics who joined hands across their lands and helped to break the chains that held their nations captive. We remember the students of Prague who propelled a dissident playwright from a jail cell to the presidency of a free republic.

(From L to R) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, German President Horst Koehler, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton walk through the Brandenburg Gate during a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall in Berlin.UPI/David Silpa Photo.

And tonight, we remember the Germans on both sides of the wall, but particularly the Germans in the East who stood up and finally were able to say, “No more. Freedom is our birthright and we will take it by our own hands.” (Applause.) We know that millions of hearts, of minds, and hands were behind those who literally tore down the wall. But history did not end the night the wall came down; it began anew. We could not know what the people of Berlin nor the people of Germany and Europe would do with this moment. But together, we saw you transform the landscape of this continent and change the course of world events. So Berlin came to stand at the center of a free, peaceful, prosperous, reunified Germany and a free, peaceful, prosperous, unified Europe.

Two decades later, we remember. But it is also a call to action. There are still millions across our world who are separated – maybe not by walls, maybe not by barbed wire, although that still exists – but who are separated from loved ones, who are kept down and behind, unable to fulfill their own destinies.

So as beneficiaries of this great bequest we inherited in 1989, those of us gathered here tonight, leaders and citizens alike, we must pledge ourselves to work together to advance freedom beyond its current frontiers so that people everywhere are afforded the opportunities to pursue their dreams and live up to their God-given potential.

I am deeply honored to introduce now a message from someone who represents the fall of different kinds of walls – of walls of discrimination, of stereotype, of character, the walls that too often are inside minds and hearts. Let me introduce a message from President Barack Obama.

From L to R) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, German President Horst Koehler, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton walk through the Brandenburg Gate during a ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall in Berlin.UPI/David Silpa Photo