It’s worth taking a moment to remember that the Berlin Wall fell this day in 1989.
Though orders had been been given, they were botched by East German propaganda minister Günter Schabowski, who mistakenly announced in a press conference that restrictions on border crossings would be lifted immediately. In fact, restrictions were to be lifted the next day.
Tens of thousands of East Berliners heard Schabowski’s statement live on East German television and flooded the checkpoints in the Wall demanding entry into West Berlin. The surprised and overwhelmed border guards made many hectic telephone calls with their superiors, but it became clear that there was no-one within the East German authorities who would dare to take personal responsibility for issuing orders to use lethal force, so there was no way for the vastly outnumbered soldiers to hold back the huge crowd of East German citizens. In face of the escalating crowd the guards finally yielded, opening the checkpoints and allowing people through with little or no identity checks. The ecstatic East Berliners were soon greeted by West Berliners on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. November 9 is thus considered the date the Wall fell. In the days and weeks that followed people came to the wall with sledgehammers in order to chip off souvenirs, demolishing lengthy parts of it in the process. These people were nicknamed “Mauerspechte” (wall woodpeckers).
Photos:
1989, November 9, berlin wall, german unification, germany, revolution, fall of communism
Posted November 9, 2006 by Casey Bisson
Categories: Politics & Controversy. Tags: 1989, berlin wall, fall of communism, german unification, germany, November 9, revolution.
1 Comment(s)
Comments RSS
TrackBack Identifier URI
User contributed tags for this post:
schabowski video (53) - gunter schabowski press conference video (41) - Gunther Schabowski (39) - berlin wall video (35) - Gunter Schabowski video (26) - Schabowski press conference video (23) - schabowski press conference (22) - german (18) - Günter Schabowski youtube (18) - berlin wall press conference video (17) - fall of berlin wall video (16) - Günter Schabowski speech (15) - falling of berlin wall (13) - Schabowski youtube (13) - youtube schabowski (12) - berlin wall video clip (12) - Berlin Wall demolition (11) - gunter schabowski (11) - Schabowski speech (10) - gunter schabowski press conference (10) - video schabowski (9) - Berlin Wall Video clips (9) - guenther schabowski (8) - berlin wall conference (8) - demolition clipart (8) - berlin wall press conference (8) - berlin wall demolished (7) - Fall of the Berlin Wall clip (7) - berlin wall clip (7) - demolition of the berlin wall (7) - Günter Schabowski speech berlin wall (6) - schabowski pressekonferenz (6) - Schabowski Pressekonferenz video (6) - berlin wall fall video (6) - berlin wall videos (6) - schabowski speech the fall of the berlin wall 1989 (6) - Fall of the Berlin Wall video (6) - photos demolition of berlin wall (6) - video clips of berlin wall (6) - berlin wall.mov (6) - fall of berlin wall video clip (5) - günther schabowski youtube (5) - berlin wall video.clip (5) - G nter Schabowski video (5) - berlin wall demolition pictures (5) - guenter schabowski (5) - Pressekonferenz Schabowski Video (5) - Video clips Berlin wall (5) - gunther schabowski video (5) - Berlin wall falls (5) - fall of the berlin wall video clip (5) - the wall of berlin falling information (5) - pictures of the berlin wall falling (5) - wall demolition pictures (4) - Date berlin wall fell (4) - berlin wall fall clip (4) - berlin wall pictures (4) - schabowski video press conference (4) - berlin fallen wall pictures (4) - schabowski wall (4) - berlin wall clips (4) - would (4) - demolishing the berlin wall (4) - Schabowski berlin wall (4) - Guenter Schabowski video (4) - pictures of walls falling (4) - Berlin wall demolition photos (4) - berlin wall falls video (3) - video clips of the berlin wall (3) - pictures of the berlin wall demolishing (3) - guenther fallof berlin wall (3) - fall of the berlin wall press conference video (3) - demolition clip art (3) - schabowski pressekonferenz youtube (3) - Guenter Schabowski press conference (3) - Schabowski Gunter border open press (3) - video clip berlin wall (3) - video berlin wall fall press conference (3) - Schabowski berlin wall video (3) - Berlin Wall/pics (3) - date berlin wall demolished (3) - Schabowski UND You tube (3) - pressekonferenz schabowski youtube (3) - Pictures of Fallen Berlin Wall (3) - pictures of berlin wall (3) - Mauerspechte berlin wall (3) - berlin wall why it fell (3) - berlin wall fall video clips (3) - Günter Schabowski speach youtube (3) - gunter schabowski press video (3) - Schabowski press conference video english (3) - videoclips of the fall of theberlin wall (3) - Berlin Wall-FILM CLIPS (3) - video of the berlin wall falling (3) - Günter Schabowski berlin wall video (3) - video gunter schabowski (3) - charlie the unicorn clip art (3) - video berlin wall (3) - Video Clips of the Wall of Berlin (3) - Clip of Berlin Wall falling (3) - falling for the berlin wall video clips (3) - video of the berlin wall (3) - schabowski clip (3) - Günter Schabowski you tube (3) - fall of berlin wall pictures (3) - fall of the Berlin Wall .mov (3) - the date berlin wall fell (2) - Schabowski press video (2) - youtube fall of the berlin wall gunter (2) - the wall fell schabowski (2) - gunter schabowski berlin wall youtube (2) - video of fall berlin wall video (2) - Günter Schabowski announces berlin wall (2) - günther schabowski press conference (2) - berlin wall demolish photo (2) - berlin wall fall pictures (2) - schabowski speech wall (2) - fall ofberlin wall photos (2) - gunther berlin wall (2) - pictures Fall of Berlin wall (2) - schabowski video -youtube (2) - east german archives fall of the wall schabowski (2) - video clip on the berlin wall (2) - gunter Schabowski fall of berlin wall (2) - gunter schabowski press conference youtube (2) - east berlin film clip (2) - gunter berlin wall (2) - falling wall clip art (2) - Schabowski press conference youtube (2) -
My Boss has a piece of the wall in his warehouse. Hey Casey – this is Dave from California!