CARP Rally in Berlin

Claus Dubicz
June 17, 1985

June 17, 1985. The final rally in the heart of Berlin attracted thousands of listeners.

The months of May and June this year were very intense for German CARP.

On May 24, Faith Jones came to Berlin to conduct several special ceremonies under the spiritual guidance of Heung Jin Nim. Conditions were being laid for the eventual collapse of the Berlin Wall and for the liberation of humankind from the evils of communism.

June 17 is celebrated throughout West Germany as the "Day of German Unity." It commemorates the day in 1953 when the workers of East Berlin and East Germany raised their voices against an exaggerated increase of working hours. The uprising developed into a political protest against the communist regime and was brutally suppressed by the Soviets, who poured their tanks into East Germany. Dozens of people were killed. In the following years hundreds of thousands of people escaped to West Germany. After more than two million East Germans had escaped, the communists built the Wall across Berlin and barbed-wire fences all along the border between East and West Germany.

Demonstration on Bernauer Strasse commemorating the Day of German Unity.

Berlin at the Forefront

In remembrance of the uprising, on June 16 CARP held a seminar in the International Congress Center (Berlin's newest ultra-modern conference facility), with nearly 150 people in attendance. The theory of Marxism-Leninism was criticized and countered with the alternative of Godism. Dieter Schmidt, president of German CARP, stressed that Berliners have always been at the forefront of the confrontation between communism and the free world. Quoting Germany's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, he called for "spiritual victory over atheistic materialism."

The next day we demonstrated publicly. This time we met with none of the opposition we had often encountered in the past. At Checkpoint Charlie the demonstrators moved spontaneously towards the Wall, even treading on the territory of East Berlin, and shouted with the megaphone: "Gorbachev, schaff die Mauer ab!" (Pull down the wall!)

At Bernauer Strasse, a place where many were shot escaping over the wall and many made it to freedom, we marched through the rain. We remembered the workers of East Berlin, who 32 years ago expressed their protest in spite of heavy rain and the presence of Soviet tanks. From our podium, the representatives of 21 nations shouted in their native languages: "Brothers and sisters in the East, we will never forget you. We will fight for the reunification of Germany and a world of peace and freedom!"

Henrique de Araujo, the brother who was killed by a bomb in Frankfurt airport on June 19, 1985.

Our Never-Ending Dream for Unity

At the final rally at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in the heart of Berlin, the Blue Tuna Band and our speakers attracted several thousand Berliners. We expressed our never-ending dream of a city without walls. A worker who took part in the uprising of 1953 gave a personal testimony about the injustices he suffered at that time. Our choir ended the rally by singing "We Are the World" and the German national anthem, expressing hope for "Unity, justice, and freedom for the German fatherland."

On June 18, World CARP Day was celebrated. Father initiated this day in 1984 together with the CARP presidents of Korea, Japan, and the United States. European CARP leaders renewed their determination to completely invest themselves in the work on the campuses, in order to bring the young people back to God. They pledged to be prepared even to give their lives for this cause.

Only one day later a tragic incident shocked the world: In a terrorist bombing at Frankfurt Airport 40 people were seriously injured, two children died, and the president of CARP in Portugal, Henrique de Araujo, was killed. He had attended the Berlin rallies and was on his way back to Portugal. Like all of us, he had renewed his pledge to be prepared to give his life for God and humankind.

Many newspapers reported the story. The largest German daily newspaper, Bad printed a front-page picture of Mr. Araujo and a long story about his activities in Berlin, his family, and his commitment to CARP. Mr. Araujo leaves behind his wife Lidia and his children Miguel (3 years) and Lia (1 1/2 years).

Heung Jin Nim explained through Faith Jones that Satan was very angry before the rally took place and that, without the conditions laid beforehand, "an even bigger disaster could have happened at the time of the rally." He asked us to offer Mr. Araujo's life "for the future of Germany, CARP, and CAUSA," and he explained that "this brother can help Portugal in the fight against communism in the future."