Günter Schabowski began his career as a journalist working his way up to editor of Neues Deutschland, the Socialist Unity Party (SED) newspaper (2) 
In 1985, Günter Schabowski was made First Secretary of East Berlin SED and voted into membership in the Politbüro (3)
Schabowski spoke at the 4th of November 1989 Alexanderplatz demonstration alongside dissidents; seen as reformer within the SED (4)
On November 9, 1989 Schabowski was tasked with giving press conference to announce new regulations that allowed limited travel with a visa for East German citizens (5)
Running on almost no sleep and with very little preparation, Schabowski appeared to announce free travel to take effect “immediately. Without delay” (sofort, unverzüglich) (6)
Schabowski's announcement and its broadcast on Western TV prompted thousands to go to border checkpoints (8)
Border guards were unwilling to use deadly force to disperse the crowds. At 11:30 pm guards opened Bornholmer Straße crossing. On November 10, the SED Politburo blamed Schabowski’s press conference for the chaos at the border (9
In 1997, Schabowski convicted of culpability in Berlin Wall deaths with Krenz and Kleiber. Schabowski was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for border deaths; served 1 year before pardoned.
Post-GDR, Schabowski became highly critical of SED rule and state socialism. His memoir was titled "We Did Nearly Everything Wrong."
