Rise and Fall of The Berlin Wall: Part 3 – The Fall

 Then things developed quickly. On 2. May 1989, Hungarian border patrols removed the barbed wire fences from the border separating Hungary from Austria. The Eastern German party leaders thought this would be more like a “cosmetic” operation in order to tone the character of the border down, but it was indeed a signal Hungary had sent to the world.

 It was in September 1989, when the Czech government put some pressure on the GDR leaders to simplify travel conditions for the Eastern German people after more than 10,000 people had occupied the embassy of Western Germany in Prague and had tried to force their departure to the West. On 30. September, after massive international protests, the state leader Erich Honecker finally had to give in and let the protesters go. They were brought to the West of Germany in special trains.

 As a result of that, The “SED” leadership enacted a modified law about somewhat simplified travelling conditions much earlier than originally scheduled. But even this move wasn’t sufficient to avoid that people’s desire for free travel could be suppressed any longer.

 Then during a press conference, Günter Schabowski reads out the news from a slightly confused paper announcing that the travel restrictions have been lifted. In this paper it actually said that Eastern Germans would no longer have to give a valid reason for their travels, and that their desire for travel into foreign countries would immediately be respected.

 But the way he read it out, it did sound like from this moment on, there were no more restrictions at all. This was broadcast in television on all channels in East and West. Then a journalist asks him when these regulations would become effective. And his answer is “Now, immediately.” The way it was perceived by the people and interpreted by the media allowed only one conclusion: The wall is gone, right now.

 Shortly before midnight thousands of Eastern Germans in Berlin were pushing against the border. Soldiers on duty and secret police stopped the crowd at the borderline and tried to control their movement. But they were simply overpowered. The officers in charge then decided to use a so-called “valve” solution and to let some people cross the border. But from that moment, there was no stopping the crowd. The guards were overwhelmed by the numbers and didn’t know how to react. Fortunately among all the confusion, no shots were fired. And once the flow of people had started to break through, it was out of the hands of anybody. People had taken charge and started celebrating on top of the wall, around the Brandenburg Gate, in all streets and on all large squares in the City Centre. The excitement was unimaginable. After 28 years the wall finally had to give way to the people’s desire for freedom.

Image via Wikipedia