1. This Day Thirty Years Ago
Guenter Schabowski, a member of the USSR Politburo, had been conducting a rambling news conference for an hour when he mentioned that East Germany was going to lift restrictions on travel across its border into West Germany.
Guenter Schabowski, a member of the USSR Politburo, had been conducting a rambling news conference for an hour when he mentioned that East Germany was going to lift restrictions on travel across its border into West Germany.
2. Pressed on when the new regulations would take effect, Guenter Schabowski looked at his notes and stammered, 'As far as I know, this enters into force ... this is immediately, without delay.'
3. It was so offhanded that it took Frieder Reimold, then the Berlin bureau chief of AP's German service, a little time to recognize the implications. Then he typed out what has become his iconic alert: 'DDR oeffnet Grenzen' — 'East Germany opens borders.'
4. And the flood gates opened. I was there in Germany, on a business trip, when it happened. Stunned and wild was the day and the night.
The End
The End
30 Years Ago Today
The Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall in 1961.
A man wields a pickaxe to participate in the destruction of the Berlin Wall between Potsdamer Platz and the Brandenburg Gate, Nov. 10, 1989. The Berlin Wall separated East and West Berlin for over 28 years.
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev kisses East German leader Erich Honecker after Gorbachev's arrival in East Berlin, Oct. 6, 1989. At right is Raisa Gorbachev.
The artwork 'Visions In Motion', overhangs the 'Strasse des 17. Juni' (Street of June 17) boulevard in front of the Brandenburg Gate, Nov. 1, 2019. The art work by Patrick Shearn is part of the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
