NPR

This evening, 8,000 helium balloons lit up the root of what was the concrete and barbed wire barrier known as the Berlin Wall. The installation marks a quarter-century since the wall was breached and thousands of Berliners from the Communist East flooded into the Capitalist Western half of the city. NPR's Berlin correspondent Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson has gone over to the balloon wall to view the anniversary celebrations. Hiya, Soraya. 今晚，8000 个氢气球照亮了由混凝土和铁丝网组成的分界线柏林墙旧址。设置这些气球的 目的是为了纪念柏林墙倒塌25 周年，柏林墙倒塌时有数千名来自共产主义东德的柏林人涌 进这个城市的另一部分——资本主义西德。NPR 新闻驻柏林的记者索拉亚·莎哈迪·纳尔逊在这面气球墙附近观看庆祝活动。你好，索拉亚。 SORAYA SARHADDI NELSON, BYLINE: Hi, Robert. 索拉亚·莎哈迪·纳尔逊报道：你好，罗伯特。 SIEGEL: And describe for us what you're seeing there. 西格尔：为我们形容一下你在现场看到的情况。 NELSON: Well, I'm at Bernauer Street, which of course is a famous part of where the wall was.There is a big mural here on the side of one building that shows an East German soldier who fled to the West as the wall was going up. And as you look down the street here you see this line of balloons, these helium balloons on flexible stands. There's already been one casualty, unfortunately — one less balloon. So maybe we should say 7,999. It's laying here on the side. I mean, it is pretty windy. It's sort of an interesting atmosphere. There's not a whole lot of people. But the ones who are here are taking selfies and looking forward to seeing these balloons released on Sunday. 纳尔逊：我现在在伯诺尔大街，当然这里因设立了柏林墙而出名。这里有座大楼上有一幅巨大的壁画，画作再现了在柏林墙即将封闭时东德士兵逃到西德去的场景。你往下看这条街时，会看到气球边界，这些氢气球被设置在可活动的台座上。当然现在已经有一个破了，所以不幸地是，这里少了一个气球，也许我们应该说这7999 个气球。那个破了的气球就在路边上，因为现在这里的风很大。这氛围很有意思。这里并没有很多人。但是在这里自拍的人们希望能看到这些气球在周日被放飞。 SIEGEL: I gather to the accompaniment of Beethoven's "Ninth." 西格尔：我想现场的伴奏是贝多芬的《第九交响曲》。 NELSON: That is correct — "Ode To Joy." Now, there are of course some questions about whether 8,000 people are going to release 8,000 balloons or exactly how this is going to work. But for this weekend, they'll get to look at this long line — about 10 miles long of balloons. 纳尔逊：没错。伴奏是《欢乐颂》。当然现在仍有一些问题，比如是否有8000 个人要放飞这 8000 个气球，或者这个活动到底要怎么进行？不过本周末，他们会过来观看这条10 英里的 气球边界。 SIEGEL: But beyond taking the selfies, Berliners are enjoying the celebration? 西格尔：除了自拍以外，柏林人享受这个庆祝活动吗？ NELSON: They are, and they aren't. I mean, there's a lot of tension because of a nationwide rail strike that's affecting city transit, as well, so there aren't as many people here. And the ones who are here, who live here, feel that this is yet just another obstacle, having all these stages and balloons and lights out to commemorate the weekend. 纳尔逊：他们很享受，实际上并不享受。我的意思是，由于德国铁路大罢工影响了柏林的交 通运输，有一些紧张的氛围，而且来这里的人也不是很多。不过来到庆典现场和住在这附近 的居民都感觉这就像是另一个边界，设置这些底座、气球和灯以纪念这个周末。 SIEGEL: Now, there actually was controversy in Berlin over what to do with the remnants of the real Berlin Wall. That wasn't an easy question to answer. How did that play out? 西格尔：其实柏林对如何处理柏林墙遗址有很多争议。这并不是一个容易回答的问题。那是怎么发展的？ NELSON: Well, absolutely. I mean, you were here for when — at the beginning, when there were a lot of people coming who were coming across and on both sides were taking hammers and shovels and whatnot to the wall to try and bring it down. Afterward, there was a lot of discussion about what happens with this thing. And you had developers really wanting property, and this wall was in the way. You had German politicians who really wanted to bury this. They just didn't want to be reminded of how their country was divided so uncomfortably for so many years. And then you had activists who felt the history should be preserved. You even had people coming from overseas like American actor David Hasselhoff, who's actually a popular singer here with a certain generation, and protesting against this. So yeah, it definitely was very controversial. 纳尔逊：绝对是。我的意思是，在最开始的时候有许多人来到这里，来自东德和西德的人们拿着锤子和铲子等东西要把这面墙推倒。之后就如何处理这面墙的讨论有很多。开发者希望把这面墙作为财产，而这正是这面墙面临的情况。但是德国政治家希望把它埋掉。他们不想记起他们的国家曾经不幸地分裂了那么多年。也有活动人士认为这份历史应该被保护。甚至还有像美国演员大卫·哈塞尔霍夫这样来自海外的人抵制这些活动，哈塞尔霍夫对一些柏林人来说是备受欢迎的歌手。所以柏林墙绝对是备受争议的。 SIEGEL: Now I want you to talk about on