On this day in history, November 10, 1989:
After weeks of unrest, the government of the German Democratic Republic announced on November 9, 1989, that all its citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin, so huge crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the Berlin Wall. They were joined by throngs of jubilant West Germans on the other side.
In the following weeks, parts of the wall, an ugly symbol of the “iron curtain” for 28 years, were chipped away by ordinary people and souvenir hunters. The fall of the Berlin Wall led to the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, the reunification of Germany, and the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Berlin Wall Erected in 1961
Communist East Germany started building the 96-mile wall in August 1961 in order to prevent its people from fleeing into capitalist West Berlin. It included guard towers strategically placed along the concrete walls, which surrounded an area called the "death strip," which contained anti-vehicle trenches and other defenses. More than 100 people are said to have been killed at the wall while trying to escape from east to west.
U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited the Berlin Wall in 1963. On June 26, he said: "There are some who say that Communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin." On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan also made a speech at the Berlin Wall, challenging the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. “Mr. Gorbachev,” he declared, “tear down this wall!”
Confused Announcement
The fortified border crumbled after a confused announcement on November 9, 1989, by a senior East German Communist official. At the end of a news conference, a Politburo spokesman casually said that East Germany was lifting its restrictions on travel across the border with West Germany.
When pressed on when the change would go into effect, he looked at his notes and said: "As far as I know, this enters into force ... this is immediately, without delay." He later said he did not know this announcement was not supposed to be made until the next morning because there had been a communications breakdown with his party boss. He also later stated that he did not regret his mistake because it led to the peaceful reunification of a divided Germany.
East Berliners surged toward the border crossings. Faced with unruly crowds and lacking clear instructions, the border guards opened the gates, and the wall was on its way into the dustbin of history. The Bornholmer Strasse bridge was the first crossing to open.
800,000 Crossed Border on First Day
The guards at the wall did not know how to react when people poured into the area, but eventually let them pass in order to avoid a riot. On both sides, delirious people celebrated while smashing the wall with hammers and chisels. Some 800,000 people crossed the border on the first day, November 10. East Germans who entered the West were given a "welcome gift" of 100 marks each.
Angela Merkel, who would become the first female chancellor of a reunited Germany in 2005, was among the East Germans who thought "something might happen on the evening of November 9." Like many others, she made her way across the border. "We were speechless and happy," she said 20 years later.
