Berlin remembers fall of the Wall
Celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall are reaching their climax.
Leaders from around the world have gathered at the Brandenburg Gate for a commemorative concert.
Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel walked across a bridge that was the first crossing opened between East and West on 9 November 1989.
The wall’s fall led to the collapse of Communist power, German reunification and the Cold War’s end.
Communist East Germany erected the 155-km (96-mile) concrete barrier in 1961 to encircle West Berlin and prevent citizens from fleeing into the capitalist enclave.
“ It’s a day of celebration for the whole of Europe ”
Angela Merkel
At least 136 people are thought to have been killed at the wall while trying to escape.
Angela Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, led Monday’s celebrations.
The German chancellor retraced her steps on the night the wall fell by crossing what used to be the Bornholmer Strasse checkpoint, the first to open 20 years ago.
Ms Merkel was joined by ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Lech Walesa, the former Polish trade union leader and later president, whose movement was the first to challenge Communist rule successfully in Eastern Europe.
There was applause and cheers from hundreds of onlookers as Ms Merkel praised Mr Gorbachev for helping to make change possible.
HOW THE WALL FELL
# 13 August 1961: East Germany erects the Berlin Wall
# August-September 1989: Tens of thousands of East Germans seek asylum abroad as communist control over Eastern Europe relaxes
# 7 October: Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev indirectly calls for reform on a visit to East Berlin
# 18 October 1989: Egon Krenz replaces Erich Honecker as East Germany’s leader after anti-government protests
# 4 November: Mass protests by East Germans against the government culminate in a million-strong rally in Berlin
# 9 November: The Wall is breached after the East German government moves to lift restrictions on travel across the border to West Germany
"It’s not only a day of celebration for Germans. It’s a day of celebration for the whole of Europe," she said.
Earlier, Ms Merkel said in a TV interview that German unity was still incomplete, as the East lagged in economic growth.
The main events marking the anniversary in the city are taking place at the Brandenburg Gate – the symbol of German reunification in 1990.
Ms Merkel led a procession of leaders, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through the Gate.
US President Barack Obama, who could not attend the celebrations, made a surprise video address.
"There could be no clearer rebuke of tyranny. There could be no stronger affirmation of freedom," he said of the wall’s tearing down.
In his speech, Mr Brown praised the spirit of Berliners, saying: "You dared to dream in the darkness. You knew that while force has the temporary power to dominate, it can never ultimately dictate."
Ms Merkel said that that day two decades ago had been "one of the most joyful days of my life".
"Freedom is… the most precious element of our political and social system," she added. "Without freedom there is no democracy."
Also attending is former Hungarian Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth, whose decision to open his country’s borders first allowed East Germans to flee to the West.
Later, hundreds of giant foam dominoes – painted with messages of freedom by young people – placed along the former route of the wall were toppled to show how the then Communist governments of Eastern Europe fell one after another.
The festivities are being capped with fireworks and a concert featuring performances by musicians from across the world.
Meanwhile, Guenter Schabowski – the former East German official whose casual public comments about the proposed ending of restrictions on travel from East to West Berlin are widely thought to have led to the fall of the wall – has admitted there had been a breakdown in communication with his party boss, Egon Krenz.
Mr Schabowski blurted out the plans during a televised press conference – and compounded his error by adding the new rules would come into force "immediately".
He told the BBC he did not regret his blunder because it had led to the divided Germany being reunited peacefully.
On the eve of the celebrations, Mrs Clinton called for a new push to free those still oppressed.
"Our history did not end the night the wall came down," she said.
"To expand freedom to more people, we cannot accept that freedom does not belong to all people."
Source: BBC News
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Posted by Axxa News Team
on Nov 9 2009. Filed under News.
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