11/09/2026
“They are attacking the US.”
Those were my dad’s words when I walked into his hotel room in Moscow on the morning of September 11, 2001.
The TV was on. The images were almost impossible to understand.
I started to cry.
“And now what, Dad?” I asked him.
I still remember his face. He couldn’t say a thing.
Some moments stay with you forever.
This is not a political post.
But I do believe that what happened in Manhattan that day changed the way many of us saw the world. It was a shock. We were sad. Innocent people were dying simply because they happened to be there.
And yes, innocent people die because of violence in many other parts of the world, too. Regardless of where it happens, it makes me extremely sad. There is no room for violence in my life. I advocate for kindness, love, tolerance and respect.
I was already living in Germany at the time. My mom and dad were travelling through Russia and Scandinavia, and we had decided to meet in Moscow.
That same night, we took the train to St. Petersburg. I remember the sound of the train on the old tracks. I could barely sleep.
I had been on top of the Twin Towers twice: in 1998 and again in 2000. I still get goosebumps when I think about the people who were up there that morning and what they must have felt, knowing there was no escape.
Years later, I had the chance to visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Because history, even when it belongs to the past, is also about the present.
Whether we are talking about 1933, 1945 or 2001, we MUST NOT forget what history has taught us.
To the memory of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. 🕊️
Do you remember where you were or what you were doing that day?
#911
