30 years ago, in July 1990, over 3,000 Albanians stormed the West German embassy in the capital Tirana. It was #Albania's Berlin Wall moment, the beginning of the end of the dictatorship, and it changed a whole generation's life forever. 1/8

It started with a few people at first. Once in, they demanded that they be allowed to leave Albania, which was still an unreformed party-state. Some of them had seen on TV what had happened in Berlin and other East European countries. 2/8

A German embassy staff member, Lothar Parzeller, took notes as people entered the embassy grounds beginning on 2 July, and how the embassy was totally overrun by July 6. "Women, children, pregnant women ..."
3/8

Thousands were stuck inside the embassy grounds for ten days. Outside, the dictatorship's security police fired at people, trying to stop more people from joining. Embassy personnel used first-aid kits. At some point, the water to the embassy was shut off. 4/8

On July 3, a Czechoslovak LIAZ (Skoda) truck rams through the embassy wall, loaded with 63 people on board. They manage to escape "into West Germany." In Tirana, there's a monument to that "freedom truck" driven by Ylli Bodinaku. 5/8

Among the escapees: a baby and a sheep.
6/8

They were allowed to leave the country on July 12, at night. In the archives, I have seen evidence that the security police tried to track & keep tabs on them even after they left the country. 7/8

Over the years, the Germans have recognized the historic nature of those days in July, making available embassy photos and notes. But nothing compares to the oral histories of the participants themselves. 8/8

Online photo exhibit: …https://ausstellungen.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/botschaftsbesetzung-tirana/#s40