[lb1lf]

Being Norwegian (occupied by the Nazis during WW2) I'd like to chime in with my anecdata - my grandfather served as occupation police in Germany for a couple of years after the war; when the Berlin Wall came down, I was eleven years old and visiting my grandparents. I had been put to bed, but then my grandfather comes and tells me to come to the living room with this weird, strained look on his face; I duly followed him, expecting bad news - some death in the family or whatever.

He nods to the television and tells me that tonight, I'll stay up until the newscast is over - because tonight, the war finally comes to a close.

My grandfather didn't do feelings very well - but for most of that night, he wept with relief and joy. It is to this day the most powerful experience of my life - seeing the impact this event had on my otherwise stoic, accept-anything-in-its-stride grandfather.