Berlin Wall Anniversary

Categories: Current Events | European Union | News

  • On November 9, 2009 world leaders gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The fall is celebrated by politicians, led by Angela Merkel, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Lech Walesa, walking a historic trajectory across the Berlin Wall.

    • Remarkably, Mrs Merkel, now Chancellor of the German government, was one of the East Germany citizens who crossed the border 20 years before. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/6531246/Berlin-Wall-anniversary-leaders-recreate-historic-walk.html
    • Highlight of the celebration was a row of dominoes built of (recreated) Wall slabs, indicating the domino-effect the Fall of the Wall had. The Domino line followed the original track of the Berlin Wall.

  • Speeches

    President Barack Obama had a video message played at the Brandenburg Gate, noting that both he and Angela Merkel have made a historic crossing: Merkel from East Germany to being German Chancellor, as he himself became the first black president of the United States.

    • Angela Merkel herself remembered that freedom is not a given. November 9 also marks the date of the Kristallnacht, (Night of Broken Glass) in 1938, which marked the start of the genocide of the Holocaust
    • Former president Mikhail Gorbachev remembered the decisions made in Russia and eastern Europe, leading up to the fall of The Wall. Hans-Dietrich Genscher (Western Germany and Gorbachev were standing side-by-side, and proclaimed to have become friends.
    • Other speeches were held by Nicolas Sarkozy, Dmitry Medvedev]], Gordon Brown and Hillary Clinton (introducing Obama)http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed1/idUSTRE5A84T420091109

  • History

    The end of World War II marked the beginning of tensions between east (Russia) and west (Allied Forces). In the aftermath of the war, Berlin was split into four sections, The British, American and French in the West of the city and the Soviet in the East.

    • In 1948, Russia tried to gain control over Berlin by blocking all road and train access. The allied forces reacted with the Berlin Airlift, one of the biggest aircraft endeavors, which was upheld from June 27, 1948 to May 12, 1949, and consisted of 270,000 flights with goods into Berlin. http://www.trumanlibrary.org/teacher/berlin.htm
    • Tensions rise, resulting in the border, including the Brandenburg Gate being closed in 1961. In August, the first concrete blocks are placed on the border line. Before the end of the month the split between east and west Berlin is final.
    • The Wall is reinforced in 1962 and 1963. US President J.F. Kennedy holds his famous speech in Berlin, stating ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’’.
    • In 1975 and 1976 the Wall is again reinforced, this time with the signature reinforced concrete slabs, each 3.6 m high and 1.5m wide.
    • In 1987 tension lessens as US President Ronald Reagan requests Soviet leader Gorbachev to "tear down" the Wall.
    • In 1989 several borders are opened up between Eastern and Western Europe.
    • East German citizens protest against their government. After weeks of protests, a crowd of over half a million protest on Alexander Square, leading up to the breakdown of The Wall.
    • On November 9, 1989: a Politburo member speaks out of turn when declaring at a press conference that new travel laws, including free travel between east and west, are effective immediately. The same evening the Wall is stormed by civilians, and the gate is opened. The Wall falls. http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/theberlinwall/2009/11/200911373659155176.html

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