Fall Of The Berlin Wall - Wikipedia

1989 destruction of the Berlin Wall Fall of the Berlin Wall

Part of the Revolutions of 1989 and German reunification
Germans stand on top of the Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate, before this section was torn down in the hours before the West German leader walked through the Gate to greet his East German counterpart.
Date	9 November 1989; 36 years ago (1989-11-09)
Time	18:53–19:01 (CET; UTC+1, press conference)[1]
Location	East Berlin, East GermanyWest Berlin, West Germany
Cause	Revolutions of 1989

The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989 during the Peaceful Revolution, marking the beginning of the destruction of the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions were overwhelmed and discarded. Sections of the wall were breached, and planned deconstruction began the following June. It was one of the series of events that started the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. The fall of the inner German border took place shortly afterward. An end to the Cold War was declared at the Malta Summit in early December, and German reunification took place in October the following year.

Background

[edit]

Opening of the Iron Curtain

[edit]

Further information: Pan-European Picnic and Removal of Hungary's border fence with Austria

The opening of the Iron Curtain between Austria and Hungary at the Pan-European Picnic on 19 August 1989 set in motion a peaceful chain reaction, at the end of which there was no longer an East Germany and the Eastern Bloc had disintegrated. After the picnic, which was based on an idea by Otto von Habsburg to test the reaction of the USSR and Mikhail Gorbachev to an opening of the border, tens of thousands of media-informed East Germans set off for Hungary. Erich Honecker dictated to the Daily Mirror for the Pan-European Picnic: "Habsburg distributed leaflets far into Poland, on which the East German holidaymakers were invited to a picnic. When they came to the picnic, they were given gifts, food and Deutsche Mark, and then they were persuaded to come to the West." The leadership of the GDR in East Berlin did not dare to completely block the borders of their own country and the USSR did not respond at all. Thus the bracket of the Eastern Bloc was broken.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Following the summer of 1989, by early November refugees were finding their way to Hungary via Czechoslovakia or via the West German embassy in Prague. On 30 September, following negotiations with East Germany and the Soviet Union, the West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher went to the Prague embassy to personally inform the thousands of refugees that they were allowed to leave for West Germany. His speech from the embassy's balcony, which included the line, "Wir sind zu Ihnen gekommen, um Ihnen mitzuteilen, dass heute Ihre Ausreise..." ("We came to you, to let you know that today, your departure...") was met with loud cheers and jubilations. The next day, the first of the embassy refugees left Prague for Bavaria.[8][9]

The emigration was initially tolerated because of long-standing agreements with the communist Czechoslovak government, allowing free travel across their common border. However, this movement of people grew so large it caused difficulties for both countries. In addition, East Germany was struggling to meet loan payments on foreign borrowings; Egon Krenz sent Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski to unsuccessfully ask West Germany for a short-term loan to make interest payments.[10]: 344 

Protection of the wall

[edit]

The Berlin Wall was made up of two walls. Both walls were 4 metres tall and had a length of 155 kilometres. They were separated by a mined corridor called the death strip. This strip was heavily guarded and included 302 watchtowers (by 1989). Guards had authorization to shoot people who attempted to go through this strip.[11][12]

Political changes in East Germany

[edit]

On 18 October 1989, longtime Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) leader Erich Honecker stepped down in favor of Krenz. Honecker had been seriously ill, and those looking to replace him were initially willing to wait for a "biological solution", but by October were convinced that the political and economic situation was too grave.[10]: 339  Honecker approved the choice, naming Krenz in his resignation speech,[13] and the Volkskammer duly elected him. Although Krenz promised reforms in his first public speech,[14] he was considered by the East German public to be following his predecessor's policies, and public protests demanding his resignation continued.[10]: 347  Despite promises of reform, public opposition to the regime continued to grow.

On 1 November, Krenz authorized the reopening of the border with Czechoslovakia, which had been sealed to prevent East Germans from fleeing to West Germany.[15] On 4 November, the Alexanderplatz demonstration took place.[16]

On 6 November, the Interior Ministry published a draft of new travel regulations, which made cosmetic changes to Honecker-era rules, leaving the approval process opaque and maintaining uncertainty regarding access to foreign currency. The draft enraged ordinary citizens, and was denounced as "complete trash" by West Berlin Mayor Walter Momper.[17] Hundreds of refugees crowded onto the steps of the West German embassy in Prague, enraging the Czechoslovaks, who threatened to seal off the East German–Czechoslovak border.[18]

On 7 November, Krenz approved the resignation of Prime Minister Willi Stoph and two-thirds of the Politburo; however, Krenz was unanimously re-elected as General Secretary by the Central Committee.[10]: 341 

New East German immigration policy

[edit]

On 19 October, Krenz asked Gerhard Lauter to draft a new travel policy.[19] Lauter was a former People's Police officer. After rising rapidly through the ranks he had recently been promoted to a position with the Interior Ministry ("Home Office" / "Department of the Interior") as head of the department responsible for issuing passports and the registration of citizens.[20]

On 8 November, the East German Politburo enacted a portion of the draft travel regulations addressing permanent emigration immediately. Initially, the Politburo planned to create a special border crossing near Schirnding specifically for this emigration.[21] However, Interior Ministry officials and Stasi bureaucrats charged with drafting the new text concluded the proposal was not feasible, and instead crafted new text relating to both emigration and temporary travel. The revised text stipulated East German citizens could apply for permission to travel abroad, without having to meet the previous requirements for those trips.[22] To ease the difficulties, the Krenz-led Politburo decided on 9 November refugees could exit directly through crossing points between East Germany and West Germany, including between East and West Berlin. Later the same day, the ministerial administration modified the proposal to include private, round-trip, travel. The new regulations would take effect the next day.[23]

VVS b2-937/89

[edit]

Text of the regulation
Original German[24]	English translation[25]
Zur Veränderung der Situation der ständigen Ausreise von DDR-Bürgern nach der BRD über die CSSR wird festgelegt: 1) Die Verordnung vom 30. November 1988 über Reisen von Bürgern der DDR in das Ausland (GBl. I Nr. 25 S. 271) findet bis zur Inkraftsetzung des neuen Reisegesetzes keine Anwendung mehr. 2) Ab sofort treten folgende zeitweilige Übergangsregelungen für Reisen und ständige Ausreisen aus der DDR in das Ausland in Kraft: a. Privatreisen nach dem Ausland können ohne Vorliegen von Voraussetzungen (Reiseanlässe und Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse) beantragt werden. Die Genehmigungen werden kurzfristig erteilt. Versagungsgründe werden nur in besonderen Ausnahmefällen angewandt. b. Die zuständigen Abteilungen Paß- und Meldewesen der VPKÄ in der DDR sind angewiesen, Visa zur ständigen Ausreise unverzüglich zu erteilen, ohne daß dafür noch geltende Voraussetzungen für eine ständige Ausreise vorliegen müssen. Die Antragstellung auf ständige Ausreise ist wie bisher auch bei den Abteilungen Innere Angelegenheiten möglich. c. Ständige Ausreisen können über alle Grenzübergangsstellen der DDR zur BRD bzw. zu Berlin (West) erfolgen. d. Damit entfällt die vorübergehend ermöglichte Erteilung von entsprechenden Genehmigungen in Auslandsvertretungen der DDR bzw. die ständige Ausreise mit dem Personalausweis der DDR über Drittstaaten. 3) Über die zeitweiligen Übergangsregelungen ist die beigefügte Pressemitteilung am 10. November 1989 zu veröffentlichen.	To change the situation with regard to the permanent exit of East German citizens to West Germany via Czechoslovakia, it has been determined that: 1. The decree from 30 November 1988 about travel abroad of East German citizens will no longer be applied until the new travel law comes into force. 2. Starting immediately, the following temporary transition regulations for travel abroad and permanent exits from East Germany are in effect: a) Applications by private individuals for travel abroad can now be made without the previously existing requirements (of demonstrating a need to travel or proving familial relationships). The travel authorizations will be issued within a short period of time. Grounds for denial will only be applied in particularly exceptional cases. b) The responsible departments of passport and registration control in the People's Police district offices in East Germany are instructed to issue visas for permanent exit without delays and presentation of the existing requirements for permanent exit. It is still possible to apply for permanent exit in the departments for internal affairs [of the local district or city councils]. c) Permanent exits are possible via all East German border crossings to West Germany and (West) Berlin. d) The temporary practice of issuing (travel) authorizations through East German consulates and permanent exit with only an East German personal identity card via third countries ceases. 3. The attached press release explaining the temporary transition regulation will be issued on 10 November.

Press release
Original German[24]	English translation[25]
Verantwortlich: Regierungssprecher beim Ministerrat der DDR Berlin (ADN) Wie die Presseabteilung des Ministeriums des Innern mitteilt, hat der Ministerrat der DDR beschlossen, daß bis zum Inkrafttreten einer entsprechenden gesetzlichen Regelung durch die Volkskammer folgende zeitweilige Übergangsregelung für Reisen und ständige Ausreisen aus der DDR ins Ausland in Kraft gesetzt wird: 1. Privatreisen nach dem Ausland können ohne Vorliegen von Voraussetzungen (Reiseanlässe und Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse) beantragt werden. Die Genehmigungen werden kurzfristig erteilt. Versagungsgründe werden nur in besonderen Ausnahmefällen angewandt. 2. Die zuständigen Abteilungen Paß- und Meldewesen der VPKÄ in der DDR sind angewiesen, Visa zur ständigen Ausreise unverzüglich zu erteilen, ohne daß dafür noch geltende Voraussetzungen für eine ständige Ausreise vorliegen müssen. Die Antragstellung auf ständige Ausreise ist wie bisher auch bei den Abteilungen Innere Angelegenheiten möglich. 3. Ständige Ausreisen können über alle Grenzübergangsstellen der DDR zur BRD bzw. zu Berlin (West) erfolgen. 4. Damit entfällt die vorübergehend ermöglichte Erteilung von entsprechenden Genehmigungen in Auslandsvertretungen der DDR bzw. die ständige Ausreise mit dem Personalausweis der DDR über Drittstaaten.	Responsible: Government spokesman of East Germany; Council of Ministers Berlin (ADN) As the Press Office of the Ministry of the Interior has announced, the East German Council of Ministers has decided that the following temporary transition regulation for travel abroad and permanent exit from East Germany will be effective until a corresponding law is put into effect by the Volkskammer: 1) Applications by private individuals for travel abroad can now be made without the previously existing requirements (of demonstrating a need to travel or proving familial relationships). The travel authorizations will be issued within a short period of time. Grounds for denial will only be applied in particularly exceptional cases. 2) The responsible departments of passport and registration control in the People's Police district offices in East Germany are instructed to issue visas for permanent exit without delays and without presentation of the existing requirements for permanent exit. It is still possible to apply for permanent exit in the departments for internal affairs [of the local district or city councils]. 3) Permanent exits are possible via all East German border crossings to West Germany and (West) Berlin. 4) This decision revokes the temporary practice of issuing (travel) authorizations through East German consulates and permanent exit with only an East German personal identity card via third countries ceases.

Events

[edit]

Misinformed public announcements

[edit]

The announcement of the regulations which brought down the Wall took place at an hour-long press conference led by Günter Schabowski, the outgoing party leader in East Berlin and top party spokesman as Secretary for Information, beginning at 18:00 CET on 9 November and broadcast live on East German television and radio. Schabowski was joined by Minister of Foreign Trade Gerhard Beil and Central Committee members Helga Labs and Manfred Banaschak.[1][10]: 352 

Topics of the press conference included the results of votes at the Central Committee meeting, the surprising removal of SED Bezirk First Secretaries Hans-Joachim Böhme and Werner Walde, the SED's electoral and press reform plans and the new travel regulations.

Schabowski had not been involved in the discussions about the new regulations and had not been fully updated.[26] Shortly before the press conference, he was handed a note from Krenz announcing the changes, but given no further instructions on how to handle the information. The text stipulated that East German citizens could apply for permission to travel abroad without having to meet the previous requirements for those trips, and also allowed for permanent emigration between all border crossings—including those between East and West Berlin.[22]

At 18:53, near the end of the press conference, ANSA's Riccardo Ehrman asked if the draft travel law of 6 November was a mistake. Schabowski gave a confusing answer that asserted it was necessary because West Germany had exhausted its capacity to accept fleeing East Germans, then remembered the note he had been given and added that a new regulation had been drafted to allow permanent emigration at any border crossing. This caused a stir in the room; amid several questions at once, Schabowski expressed surprise that the reporters had not yet seen this regulation, and started reading from the note.[1] After this, a reporter, either Ehrman or Bild-Zeitung reporter Peter Brinkmann, both of whom were sitting in the front row at the press conference,[27][28][29] asked when the regulations would take effect.[1] After a few seconds' hesitation, Schabowski replied, "As far as I know, it takes effect immediately, without delay" (German: Das tritt nach meiner Kenntnis ... ist das sofort ... unverzüglich).[30][31][10]: 352  This was an apparent assumption based on the note's opening paragraph; as Beil attempted to interject that it was up to the Council of Ministers to decide when it took effect, Schabowski proceeded to read this clause, which stated it was in effect until a law on the matter was passed by the Volkskammer. Crucially, a journalist then asked if the regulation also applied to the crossings to West Berlin. Schabowski shrugged and read item 3 of the note, which confirmed that it did.[1][28]

After this exchange, Daniel Johnson of The Daily Telegraph asked what this law meant for the Berlin Wall. Schabowski sat frozen before giving a rambling statement about the Wall being tied to the larger disarmament question.[32][27] He then ended the press conference promptly at 19:00 as journalists hurried from the room.[28][1]

After the press conference, Schabowski sat for an interview with NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw in which he repeated that East Germans would be able to emigrate through the border and the regulations would go into effect immediately.[33][34]

The news spread

[edit]

The news began spreading immediately: the West German Deutsche Presse-Agentur issued a bulletin at 19:04 which reported that East German citizens would be able to cross the inner German border "immediately". Excerpts from Schabowski's press conference were broadcast on West Germany's two main news programs that night—at 19:17 on ZDF's heute, which came on the air as the press conference was ending, and as the lead story at 20:00 on ARD's Tagesschau. As ARD and ZDF had broadcast to nearly all of East Germany since the late 1950s, were far more widely viewed than the East German channels, and had become accepted by the East German authorities, this is how most of the population heard the news. Later that night, on ARD's Tagesthemen, anchorman Hanns Joachim Friedrichs proclaimed, "This 9 November is a historic day. The GDR has announced that, starting immediately, its borders are open to everyone. The gates in the Wall stand open wide."[10]: 353 [26]

In 2009, Ehrman claimed that a member of the Central Committee had called him and urged him to ask about the travel law during the press conference, but Schabowski called that absurd.[29] Ehrman later recanted this statement in a 2014 interview with an Austrian journalist, admitting that the caller was Günter Pötschke, head of the East German news agency ADN, and he only asked if Ehrman would attend the press conference.[35]

Peace prayers at Nikolai Church

[edit] Further information: Monday demonstrations in East Germany

Despite the policy of state atheism in East Germany, Christian pastor Christian Führer had regularly met with his congregation at St. Nicholas Church for prayer since 1982.[36][37] Over the next seven years the church's congregation grew, despite authorities' barricading the adjacent streets, and peaceful candlelit marches took place following its services.[36] The secret police issued death threats and even attacked some of the marchers, but the crowds still continued to gather.[36] On 9 October 1989, the police and army units were given permission to use force against those assembled, but this did not deter the church service and march from taking place, which gathered 70,000 people and in which not a single shot was fired.[36][37]

Crowding of the border

[edit]

After hearing the 9 November broadcast, East Germans began gathering at the Wall, at the six checkpoints between East and West Berlin, demanding that border guards immediately open the gates.[26] The surprised and overwhelmed guards made many hectic telephone calls to their superiors about the problem. At first, they were ordered to find the "more aggressive" people gathered at the gates and stamp their passports with a special stamp that barred them from returning to East Germany—in effect, revoking their citizenship. However, this still left thousands of people demanding to be let through "as Schabowski said we can".[10]: 353  It soon became clear that no one among the East German authorities would take personal responsibility for issuing orders to use lethal force, so the vastly outnumbered soldiers had no way to hold back the huge crowd of East German citizens. Mary Elise Sarotte in a 2009 Washington Post story characterized the series of events leading to the fall of the Wall as an accident, saying "One of the most momentous events of the past century was, in fact, an accident, a semicomical and bureaucratic mistake that owes as much to the Western media as to the tides of history".[26]

Border openings

[edit]

Finally, at 22:45 (alternatively given as 23:30) on 9 November, Harald Jäger, commander of the Bornholmer Straße border crossing, yielded, allowing guards to open the checkpoints and let people through with little or no identity-checking.[38][39] As the Ossis swarmed through, they were greeted by Wessis waiting with flowers and champagne amid wild rejoicing. Soon afterward, a crowd of West Berliners jumped on top of the Wall and were soon joined by East German youngsters.[40] The evening of 9 November 1989 is known as the night the Wall came down.[41]

• Walking through Checkpoint Charlie, 10 November 1989
• At the Brandenburg Gate, 10 November 1989
• Juggling on the Wall on 16 November 1989
• "Mauerspecht" (November 1989)
• The fall of the Wall (November 1989)
• Celebration at the border crossing in the Schlutup district of Lübeck

Another border crossing to the south may have been opened earlier. An account by Heinz Schäfer indicates that he also acted independently and ordered the opening of the gate at Waltersdorf-Rudow a couple of hours earlier.[42] This may explain reports of East Berliners appearing in West Berlin earlier than the opening of the Bornholmer Straße border crossing.[42]

"Wallpeckers" demolition

[edit]

Removal of the Wall began on the evening of 9 November 1989 and continued over the following days and weeks, with people nicknamed Mauerspechte (wallpeckers) using various tools to chip off souvenirs, demolishing lengthy parts in the process, and creating several unofficial border crossings.[43] In the season holidays this became a sort of international action. People from all over the western world went to West Berlin and local youth provided a range of appropriate demolition tools.

Television coverage of citizens demolishing sections of the Wall on 9 November was soon followed by the East German regime announcing ten new border crossings, including the historically significant locations of Potsdamer Platz, Glienicker Brücke, and Bernauer Straße. Crowds gathered on both sides of the historic crossings waiting for hours to cheer the bulldozers that tore down portions of the Wall to reconnect the divided roads. While the Wall officially remained guarded at a decreasing intensity, new border crossings continued for some time. Initially the East German Border Troops attempted repairing the damage done by the "wallpeckers"; gradually these attempts ceased, and guards became laxer, tolerating the increasing demolitions and "unauthorized" border crossing through the holes.[44]

Prime ministers meet

[edit]

The Brandenburg Gate in the Berlin Wall was opened on 22 December 1989; on that date, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl walked through the gate and was greeted by East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow.[45] West Germans and West Berliners were allowed visa-free travel starting 23 December.[44] Until then, they could only visit East Germany and East Berlin under restrictive conditions that involved application for a visa several days or weeks in advance and obligatory exchange of at least 25 DM per day of their planned stay, all of which hindered spontaneous visits. Thus, in the weeks between 9 November and 23 December, East Germans could actually travel more freely than Westerners.[44]

Official demolition

[edit]

On 13 June 1990, the East German Border Troops officially began dismantling the Wall,[46][47] beginning in Bernauer Straße and around the Mitte district. From there, demolition continued through Prenzlauer Berg/Gesundbrunnen, Heiligensee and throughout the city of Berlin until December 1990. According to estimates by the border troops, a total of around 1.7 million tonnes of building rubble was produced by the demolition. Unofficially, the demolition of the Bornholmer Straße crossing began because of construction work on the railway. This involved a total of 300 GDR border guards and—after 3 October 1990—600 Pioneers of the Bundeswehr. These were equipped with 175 trucks, 65 cranes, 55 excavators and 13 bulldozers. Virtually every road that was severed by the Berlin Wall, every road that once linked from West Berlin to East Berlin, was reconstructed and reopened by 1 August 1990. In Berlin alone, 184 km (114 mi) of wall, 154 km (96 mi) border fence, 144 km (89 mi) signal systems and 87 km (54 mi) barrier ditches were removed. What remained were six sections that were to be preserved as a memorial. Various military units dismantled the Berlin/Brandenburg border wall, completing the job in November 1991. Painted wall segments with artistically valuable motifs were put up for auction in 1990 in Berlin and Monte Carlo.[44]

On 1 July 1990, the day East Germany adopted the West German currency, all de jure border controls ceased, although the inter-German border had become meaningless for some time before that.[48] The demolition of the Wall was completed in 1994.[46]

The fall of the Wall marked the first critical step towards German reunification, which formally concluded a mere 339 days later on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of East Germany and the official reunification of the German state along the democratic lines of the West German Basic Law.[43]

• An East German guard (with cap) talks to a Westerner through a broken seam in the Wall in late November 1989.
• A crane removes a section of the Wall near Brandenburg Gate on 21 December 1989.
• Almost all of the remaining sections were rapidly chipped away. December 1990.
• West Germans peer at East German border guards through a hole in the Wall on 5 January 1990.
• Short section of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz, March 2009
• Souvenir chunk of concrete from the Wall

International opposition

[edit]

French President François Mitterrand and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher both opposed the eventual reunification of Germany, fearing potential German designs on its neighbours using its increased strength. In September 1989, Margaret Thatcher privately confided to Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev that she wanted the Soviet leader to do what he could to stop it.[49][50] Thatcher told Gorbachev:

We do not want a united Germany. This would lead to a change to postwar borders and we cannot allow that because such a development would undermine the stability of the whole international situation and could endanger our security.[49]

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mitterrand warned Thatcher that a unified Germany could make more ground than Adolf Hitler ever had and that Europe would have to bear the consequences.[51]

Legacy

[edit]

Celebrations and anniversaries

[edit]

On 21 November 1989, Crosby, Stills & Nash performed the song "Chippin' Away" from Graham Nash's 1986 solo album Innocent Eyes in front of the Brandenburg Gate.[52]

On 25 December 1989, Leonard Bernstein gave a concert in Berlin celebrating the end of the Wall, including Beethoven's 9th symphony (Ode to Joy) with the word "Joy" (Freude) changed to "Freedom" (Freiheit) in the lyrics sung. The poet Schiller may have originally written "Freedom" and changed it to "Joy" out of fear. The orchestra and choir were drawn from both East and West Germany, as well as the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States.[53] On New Year's Eve 1989, David Hasselhoff performed his song "Looking for Freedom" while standing atop the partly demolished Wall in front of 200,000 people.[54] Roger Waters performed the Pink Floyd album The Wall just north of Potsdamer Platz on 21 July 1990, with guests including Scorpions, Bryan Adams, Sinéad O'Connor, Cyndi Lauper, Thomas Dolby, Joni Mitchell, Marianne Faithfull, Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Van Morrison.[55]

Over the years, there has been a repeated controversial debate[56] as to whether 9 November would make a suitable German national holiday, often initiated by former members of political opposition in East Germany, such as Werner Schulz.[57] Besides being the emotional apogee of East Germany's peaceful revolution, 9 November is also the date of the 1918 abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and declaration of the Weimar Republic, the first German republic. However, 9 November is also the anniversary of the execution of Robert Blum following the 1848 Vienna revolts, the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch and the infamous Kristallnacht pogroms of the Nazis in 1938. Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel criticised the first euphoria, noting that "they forgot that 9 November has already entered into history—51 years earlier it marked the Kristallnacht."[58] As reunification was not official and complete until 3 October (1990), that day was finally chosen as German Unity Day.

10th anniversary celebrations

[edit]

On 9 November 1999, the 10th anniversary was observed with a concert and fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate. Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich played music by Johann Sebastian Bach, while German rock band Scorpions performed their 1990 song Wind of Change. Wreaths were placed for victims shot down when they attempted to escape to the west, and politicians delivered speeches.[59][60]

20th anniversary celebrations

[edit]

On 9 November 2009, Berlin celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a "Festival of Freedom" with dignitaries from around the world in attendance for an evening celebration around the Brandenburg Gate. A high point was when over 1,000 colourfully designed foam domino tiles, each over 8 feet (2.4 m) tall, that were stacked along the former route of the Wall in the city center were toppled in stages, converging in front of the Brandenburg Gate.[61]

A Berlin Twitter Wall was set up to allow Twitter users to post messages commemorating the 20th anniversary. The Chinese government quickly shut down access to the Twitter Wall after internet users in China began using it to protest the Great Firewall.[62][63][64]

In the United States, the German Embassy coordinated a public diplomacy campaign with the motto "Freedom Without Walls", to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The campaign was focused on promoting awareness of the fall of the Berlin Wall among current college students. Students at over 30 universities participated in "Freedom Without Walls" events in late 2009. First place winner of the Freedom Without Walls Speaking Contest[65] Robert Cannon received a free trip to Berlin for 2010.[66]

An international project called Mauerreise (Journey of the Wall) took place in various countries. Twenty symbolic Wall bricks were sent from Berlin starting in May 2009, with the destinations being Korea, Cyprus, Yemen, and other places where everyday life is characterised by division and border experience. In these places, the bricks would become a blank canvas for artists, intellectuals and young people to tackle the "Wall" phenomenon.[67]

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 3D online virtual world Twinity reconstructed a true-to-scale section of the Wall in virtual Berlin.[68] The MTV Europe Music Awards, on 5 November, had U2 and Tokio Hotel perform songs dedicated to and about the Berlin Wall. U2 performed at the Brandenburg Gate, and Tokio Hotel performed "World Behind My Wall".

Palestinians in the town of Kalandia, West Bank, pulled down parts of the Israeli West Bank barrier, in a demonstration marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.[69]

The International Spy Museum in Washington D.C., hosted a Trabant car rally where 20 Trabants gathered in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Rides were raffled every half-hour and a Trabant crashed through a Berlin Wall mock up. The Trabant was the East German people's car that many used to leave DDR after the collapse.[70][71]

The Allied Museum in the Dahlem district of Berlin hosted a number of events to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The museum held a Special Exhibition entitled "Wall Patrol – The Western Powers and the Berlin Wall 1961–1990" which focused on the daily patrols deployed by the Western powers to observe the situation along the Berlin Wall and the fortifications on the GDR border.[72] A sheet of "Americans in Berlin" Commemorative Cinderella stamps designed by T.H.E. Hill was presented to the Museum by David Guerra, Berlin veteran and webmaster of the site www.berlinbrigade.com.[73]

30th anniversary celebrations

[edit]

Berlin planned a week-long arts festival from 4 to 10 November 2019 and a citywide music festival on 9 November to celebrate the 30th anniversary.[74][75] On 4 November, outdoor exhibits opened at Alexanderplatz, the Brandenburg Gate, the East Side Gallery, Gethsemane Church, Kurfürstendamm, Schlossplatz, and the former Stasi headquarters in Lichtenberg.[75]

Polling

[edit]

A small minority still support the wall or even support rebuilding the wall back up. In 2008 a poll found that 11% of participants from the former West Berlin and 12% from the former East Berlin said it would be better if the wall was still in place.[76]

A November 2009 poll found that 12% of Germans said the wall should be rebuilt. The poll also found that in the former West German states support was at 12% and in the former East German states it was 13%. A September 2009 poll found 15% of Germans supported a wall, while in the west it was 16% and in the east it was at 10%.[77][78]

A 2010 poll from Emnid for Bild, found that 24% of West Germans and 23% of East Germans wished for the wall still being in place.[79][80][81][82]

A 2011 poll from Berliner Zeitung on the 30th anniversary, found that 8% of Berliners supported the idea if the wall was still standing, The overwhelming majority of Berliners at 87% however supported the fall of the wall. The poll also found that 28% of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and 16% of Free Democratic Party (FDP) supporters supported bringing back the wall.[83] A 2019 Yougov poll found that 13% of Germans wanted the wall back, in the West support was at 14% and in the East it was 13%.[84]

A 2019 poll from Forsa found 35% of Berliners thought the construction of the Wall was not so wrong with supporters of the left party Die Linke at 74%.[85]

References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g "Wilson Center Digital Archive". digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org.
2. ^ Otmar Lahodynsky "Eiserner Vorhang: Picknick an der Grenze" (Iron curtain: picnic at the border – German), in Profil 13 June 2019.
3. ^ Thomas Roser: DDR – Massenflucht: Ein Picknick hebt die Welt aus den Angeln (German – Mass exodus of the GDR: A picnic clears the world) in: Die Presse 16 August 2018.
4. ^ Andreas Rödder, "Deutschland einig Vaterland – Die Geschichte der Wiedervereinigung" (2009).
5. ^ Miklós Németh in Interview, Austrian TV – ORF "Report", 25 June 2019.
6. ^ Hilde Szabo: Die Berliner Mauer begann im Burgenland zu bröckeln (The Berlin Wall began to crumble in Burgenland – German), in Wiener Zeitung 16 August 1999; Otmar Lahodynsky: Paneuropäisches Picknick: Die Generalprobe für den Mauerfall (Pan-European picnic: the dress rehearsal for the fall of the Berlin Wall – German), in: Profil 9 August 2014.
7. ^ Ludwig Greven "Und dann ging das Tor auf", in Die Zeit, 19 August 2014.
8. ^ mdr.de. "Die Botschaft von Prag (3/4): Genscher findet die Lösung | MDR.DE". www.mdr.de (in German). Retrieved 5 June 2023.
9. ^ "Genscher-Rede in Prag: Dieser Satz leitete das Ende der DDR ein". bild.de (in German). 30 September 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Sebestyen, Victor (2009). Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire. New York City: Pantheon Books. ISBN 978-0-375-42532-5.
11. ^ "What was the Berlin Wall and how did it fall?".
12. ^ "What was the "death strip"? | Britannica".
13. ^ Resignation Speech. Honecker. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
14. ^ Günter Schabowski: Honeckers Absetzung. zeitzeugenportal. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
15. ^ "Communism – East Germany". BBC News. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
16. ^ Sarotte 2014, p. 96.
17. ^ Sarotte 2014, p. 97.
18. ^ Sarotte 2014, p. 99.
19. ^ Locke, Stefan. "Mauerfall am 9. November 1989: 'Und im Übrigen: Die Grenze ist auf'". Faz.net. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved 15 December 2020 – via www.faz.net.
20. ^ "Der Ghostwriter des Mauerfalls". Meine Geschichte: Gerhard Lauter. Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Mitglied der ARD), Leipzig. 9 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
21. ^ Sarotte 2014, pp. 99–100.
22. ^ a b Sarotte 2014, pp. 107–108.
23. ^ Schäfer, Hermann (2015). Deutsche Geschichte in 100 Objekten. München, Berlin, Zürich: Piper. p. 570. ISBN 978-3-492057028.
24. ^ a b "'Schabowskis Zettel': Zeitweilige Übergangsregelung des DDR-Ministerrates für Reisen und ständige Ausreise aus der DDR, 9. November 1989 | Chronik der Mauer". www.chronik-der-mauer.de.
25. ^ a b "Wilson Center Digital Archive". digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org.
26. ^ a b c d Sarotte, Mary Elise (1 November 2009) "How it went down: The little accident that toppled history" The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
27. ^ a b Walker, Marcus (21 October 2009) "Did Brinkmannship Fell Berlin's Wall? Brinkmann Says It Did" The Wall Street Journal.
28. ^ a b c "Pressekonferenz DDR-Reiseregelung [09.11.1989]". November 2015. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021 – via YouTube.
29. ^ a b Kirchner, Stephanie (19 April 2009). "Berlin Wall: Was the Fall Engineered by the GDR?". Time. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
30. ^ "Schabowskis Ehefrau: 'Mein Mann wusste, was er sagte'". Faz.net (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
31. ^ Hemmerich, Lisa (9 November 2009). "Schabowskis legendärer Auftritt: Das folgenreichste Versehen der DDR-Geschichte" [The most consequential oversight of GDR history]. Spiegel Online (in German).
32. ^ Sarotte 2014, p. 118.
33. ^ Schabowski replied to Brokaw in broken English that East Germans were "not further forced to leave GDR by transit through another country", and could now "go through the border". When Brokaw asked if this meant "freedom of travel", Schabowski replied, "Yes of course", and added that it was not "a question of tourism", but "a permission of leaving GDR". Sarotte, p. 129.
34. ^ "Brokaw reports from the Berlin Wall". NBC News. 9 November 1989. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
35. ^ "Der verschwiegene Mauerfall". Die Presse (in German). 31 October 2014.
36. ^ a b c d e Welle, Deutsche (7 January 2009). "Peace prayers helped bring down the Wall, says Leipzig pastor". Deutsche Welle.
37. ^ a b Crutchley, Peter (9 October 2015). "How prayers helped end the Cold War". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
38. ^ "The Guard Who Opened the Berlin Wall: 'I Gave my People the Order – Raise the Barrier'". Spiegel Online. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
39. ^ Wroe, David (8 November 2009). "It was the best and worst night". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
40. ^ Sarotte 2014, pp. 146–147.
41. ^ "1989: The night the Wall came down". 9 November 1989 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
42. ^ a b McElroy, Damien (7 November 2009). "East Germans may have arrived in West Berlin hours before previously thought". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
43. ^ a b "Berlin Wall". History.com. 15 December 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
44. ^ a b c d Sarotte 2014, pp. xx–xxi.
45. ^ "1989: Brandenburg Gate re-opens". 22 December 1989 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
46. ^ a b "Untangling 5 myths about the Berlin Wall". Chicago Tribune. 31 October 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
47. ^ "In Photos: 25 years ago today the Berlin Wall Fell". TheJournal.ie. 9 November 2014.
48. ^ Sarotte 2014, pp. 189–190.
49. ^ a b Roberts, Andrew (13 September 2009). "Was Margaret Thatcher right to fear a united Germany?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
50. ^ Gledhill, Ruth; de Bruxelles, Simon (11 September 2009). "Thatcher told Gorbachev Britain did not want German reunification". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
51. ^ Gledhill, Ruth; de Bruxelles, Simon (10 September 2009). "United Germany might allow another Hitler, Mitterrand told Thatcher". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
52. ^ "Crosby, Stills and Nash Sound a Positive Note at Berlin Wall". Los Angeles Times. 21 November 1989. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
53. ^ Naxos (2006). "Ode To Freedom – Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (NTSC)". Naxos.com Classical Music Catalogue. Archived from the original on 22 November 2006. Retrieved 26 November 2006. This is the publisher's catalogue entry for a DVD of Bernstein's Christmas 1989 "Ode to Freedom" concert.
54. ^ "Did David Hasselhoff really help end the Cold War?". BBC News. 6 February 2004. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
55. ^ DeRiso, Nick (21 July 2015). "Roger Waters Reclaimed a Legacy With 'The Wall: Live in Berlin'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
56. ^ Kellerhof, Sven Felix; Posener, Alan (2007). "Soll der 9. November Nationalfeiertag werden?". Die Welt Online. Retrieved 22 February 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
57. ^ Aberger, Jörg (7 September 2004). "Debatte: Thierse fordert neuen Nationalfeiertag". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
58. ^ Wiesel, Elie (17 November 1989). "Op-Ed in response to the fall of the wall". The New York Times.
59. ^ "Berlin anniversary ends with a bang". BBC. 10 November 1999. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
60. ^ William Drozdiak (10 November 1999). "Ten Years After the Fall". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
61. ^ unknown (2009). "20 Jahre Mauerfall" (in German). Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
62. ^ "RSF.org". Archived from the original on 8 November 2009.
63. ^ "Mr. Hu, tear down this firewall!". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. 26 October 2009. Archived from the original on 11 March 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
64. ^ "Chinese netizens leap Great Firewall of China to mark Berlin Wall's 20th". Vancouver Sun. Canwest News Service. 6 November 2009. Archived from the original on 14 November 2009.
65. ^ "German Missions in the United States – Home". Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
66. ^ unknown (2009). "Freedom Without Walls". Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Washington, DC. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
67. ^ "The Wall in the World 2009 – 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Wall – Goethe-Institut". Goethe.de. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
68. ^ "The Berlin Wall in Twinity". Twinity. 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
69. ^ "Palestinians break Israel's wall – Middle East". Al Jazeera English. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
70. ^ Berk, Brett (10 November 2016). "Washington, D.C., Spy Museum Hosts a Parade of ... Communist-Era Trabants?". Car and Driver. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
71. ^ Tomforde, Anna (7 October 1989). "East Germans abandon their Trabant cars in Prague". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
72. ^ Allied Museum (2009). "Wall Patrol – The Western Powers and the Berlin Wall 1961–1990 Special Exhibition". Allied Museum, Berlin, Germany. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
73. ^ Allied Museum (2009). "American Commemorative Stamps Presented to the Museum". Allied Museum, Berlin, Germany. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
74. ^ Solly, Meilan. "Thirty Years After Fall of Berlin Wall, a Citywide Celebration". Smithsonian. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
75. ^ a b Loxton, Rachel (4 November 2019). "How Berlin is marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Wall". www.thelocal.de. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
76. ^ "Bring Back the Wall". Deutsche Welle. 27 July 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
77. ^ "Umfrage: Jeder achte Deutsche will die Mauer zurück". Der Spiegel (in German). 8 November 2009. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
78. ^ Copley, Caroline (17 September 2009). Ireland, Louise (ed.). "One in seven Germans want Berlin Wall back?". Reuters.
79. ^ "Survey finds support for return of Berlin Wall". Hindustan Times. 15 March 2010.
80. ^ "Umfrage: Jeder Vierte wünscht sich die Mauer zurück". Die Welt (in German). 15 March 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
81. ^ "Umfrage-Schock Ost-West: Jeder vierte Deutsche wünscht sich die Mauer zurück". bild.de (in German). 14 March 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
82. ^ "Umfrage: Mauer noch nicht aus Köpfen verschwunden". bild.de (in German). 15 March 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
83. ^ "Exklusive Forsa-Umfrage: Das denken die Berliner 30 Jahre später über den Mauerfall". Berliner Zeitung (in German). 4 November 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
84. ^ "Umfrage unter Deutschen: 13 Prozent wollen die Mauer zurück". nachrichten.at (in German). Retrieved 25 September 2024.
85. ^ "35 Prozent der Berliner finden den Bau der Mauer gar nicht so falsch". augsburger-allgemeine (in German). 3 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2024.

Bibliography

[edit]

• Sarotte, Mary Elise (2014). The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-05690-3 – via Google Books.

External links

[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fall and demolition of the Berlin Wall.

• Original document: "Schabowskis Zettel": Zeitweilige Übergangsregelung des DDR-Ministerrates für Reisen und ständige Ausreise aus der DDR, 9. November 1989

v t e Berlin Wall
Main articles	Inner German border Iron Curtain Wall of Shame East Berlin West Berlin German reunification Eastern Bloc emigration and defection Republikflucht Berlin Crisis of 1961 Fall of the Berlin Wall Schießbefehl
Memorials, museumsand galleries	Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer White Crosses East Side Gallery Checkpoint Charlie Museum Topography of Terror Mauerpark Chapel of Reconciliation
Border crossings	Bornholmer Straße Checkpoint Charlie Checkpoint Bravo Berlin Friedrichstraße station Glienicke Bridge Invalidenstraße Oberbaum Bridge Sonnenallee Tränenpalast, Friedrichstraße station
People who diedbreaching the Wall	Klaus Brueske Peter Fechter Winfried Freudenberg Christian-Peter Friese Chris Gueffroy Marienetta Jirkowsky Cengaver Katrancı Erna Kelm Czesław Kukuczka Horst Kutscher Günter Litfin Dorit Schmiel Egon Schultz Olga Segler Ida Siekmann Heinz Sokolowski Hildegard Trabant Rudolf Urban Christel and Eckhard Wehage
Others associatedwith the Wall	Günter Schabowski Riccardo Ehrman Erich Honecker Konrad Schumann Walter Ulbricht David Hasselhoff Jutta Fleck
The Wall in speeches	"Ich bin ein Berliner" "Tear down this wall!"
In popular culture	Films andTV series Escape from East Berlin (1962) The Wall (1962) Stop Train 349 (1963) The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965) Freiheit (1966) Funeral in Berlin (1966) The Soldier (1982) Octopussy (1983) Gotcha! (1985) Wings of Desire (1987) Judgment in Berlin (1988) Das Versprechen (1995) Sonnenallee (1999) The Tunnel (2001) Buffalo Soldiers (2001) Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) Beloved Berlin Wall (2009) Bornholmer Straße (2014) Bridge of Spies (2015) Atomic Blonde (2017) Deutschland 89 (2020) Documentaries The Road to the Wall (1962) The Tunnel (1962) Rabbit à la Berlin (2009) Novels The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) Funeral in Berlin (1964) Judgment in Berlin (1984) Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee (1999) Edge of Eternity (2014) Songs "West of the Wall" (1962) "Holidays in the Sun" (1977) "Nikita" (1985) Other media The Berlin Wall (1991 video game) The Day the Wall Came Down (1997 sculpture)
Other	List of Berlin Wall segments Ghost station Steinstücken Grenzgänger (Cross-border commuters) The Shame

v t e Cold War
United States Soviet Union NATO Warsaw Pact ANZUS METO SEATO NEATO Rio Pact Non-Aligned Movement
1940s	Morgenthau Plan Jamaican political conflict Dekemvriana Guerrilla war in the Baltic states Operation Priboi Operation Jungle Occupation of the Baltic states Cursed soldiers Operation Unthinkable Gouzenko Affair Division of Korea Chinese Civil War Chinese Communist Revolution Indonesian National Revolution Civil conflicts in Vietnam (1945–1949) Operation Beleaguer Operation Blacklist Forty Iran crisis of 1946 Greek Civil War Baruch Plan Corfu Channel incident Hukbalahap rebellion Turkish Straits crisis Restatement of Policy on Germany First Indochina War 1947 Polish parliamentary election 1947 Paraguayan Civil War Truman Doctrine Asian Relations Conference May 1947 crises Partition of India India–Pakistan war of 1947–1948 1947–1949 Palestine war 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine 1948 Arab–Israeli War 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight Marshall Plan Comecon 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état Incapacitation of the Allied Control Council Al-Wathbah uprising Tito–Stalin split Berlin Blockade La Violencia Annexation of Hyderabad Madiun Affair Western betrayal Iron Curtain Eastern Bloc Western Bloc Malayan Emergency Nepalese Democracy Movement March 1949 Syrian coup d'état Operation Valuable
1950s	Bamboo curtain McCarthyism First Indochina War Korean War Arab Cold War (1952–1979) Egyptian revolution of 1952 Iraqi Intifada Mau Mau rebellion Batepá massacre East German uprising of 1953 1953 Plzeň Uprising 1953 Iranian coup d'état Massacre of 14 July 1953 in Paris 1953 Colombian coup d'état Pact of Madrid Bricker Amendment 1954 Syrian coup d'état Petrov Affair Domino theory 1954 Geneva Conference 1954 Paraguayan coup d'état 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état Capture of the Tuapse First Taiwan Strait Crisis Jebel Akhdar War Algerian War Kashmir Princess Bandung Conference Geneva Summit (1955) Cyprus Emergency Vietnam War "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" 1956 Poznań protests Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Polish October Suez Crisis "We will bury you" Operation Gladio Syrian Crisis of 1957 Sputnik crisis Ifni War Iraqi 14 July Revolution 1958 Lebanon crisis Second Taiwan Strait Crisis 1959 Mosul uprising 1959 Tibetan uprising Kitchen Debate Cuban Revolution Consolidation of the Cuban Revolution Sino-Soviet split Night Frost Crisis
1960s	Congo Crisis Laotian Civil War Vietnam War Simba rebellion 1960 U-2 incident Bay of Pigs Invasion 1960 Turkish coup d'état Albanian–Soviet split Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Berlin Crisis of 1961 Berlin Wall Annexation of Goa Papua conflict Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Sand War Portuguese Colonial War Angolan War of Independence Guinea-Bissau War of Independence Mozambican War of Independence Cuban Missile Crisis El Porteñazo Sino-Indian War Communist insurgency in Sarawak Ramadan Revolution Eritrean War of Independence North Yemen civil war 1963 Syrian coup d'état Assassination of John F. Kennedy Aden Emergency Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Shifta War Mexican Dirty War Tlatelolco massacre Guatemalan Civil War Colombian conflict 1964 Brazilian coup d'état Dominican Civil War Rhodesian Bush War Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966 Transition to the New Order (Indonesia) ASEAN Declaration 1966 Syrian coup d'état Cultural Revolution Cambodian Civil War Argentine Revolution South African Border War Korean DMZ Conflict 12-3 incident Greek junta 1967 Hong Kong riots Years of Lead (Italy) Six-Day War War of Attrition Dhofar rebellion Al-Wadiah War Nigerian Civil War Protests of 1968 May 68 Prague Spring USS Pueblo incident 1968 Polish political crisis Communist insurgency in Malaysia Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia 17 July Revolution 1968 Peruvian coup d'état Revolutionary Government 1969 Sudanese coup d'état 1969 Libyan revolution Goulash Communism Sino-Soviet border conflict New People's Army rebellion Note Crisis
1970s	Détente Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Black September Alcora Exercise 1970 Syrian coup d'etat Western Sahara conflict Communist insurgency in Thailand December 1970 protests in Poland Koza riot Realpolitik Ping-pong diplomacy 1971 JVP insurrection Corrective revolution (Egypt) 1971 Turkish military memorandum 1971 Sudanese coup d'état 1971 Bolivian coup d'état Four Power Agreement on Berlin Bangladesh Liberation War 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China North Yemen-South Yemen Border conflict of 1972 First Yemenite War Munich massacre 1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency Eritrean War of Independence Paris Peace Accords 1973 Uruguayan coup d'état 1973 Afghan coup d'état 1973 Chilean coup d'état Yom Kippur War 1973 oil crisis Carnation Revolution Ethiopian Civil War Vietnam War Spanish transition to democracy Metapolitefsi Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Turkish invasion of Cyprus 15 August 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état Siege of Dhaka (1975) Sipahi-Janata revolution Angolan Civil War Indonesian invasion of East Timor Cambodian genocide June 1976 in Polish protests Mozambican Civil War Oromo conflict Ogaden War 1978 Somali coup attempt Western Sahara War Lebanese Civil War Sino-Albanian split Third Indochina War Cambodian–Vietnamese War Khmer Rouge insurgency Sino-Vietnamese War Operation Condor Dirty War (Argentina) 1976 Argentine coup d'état Egyptian–Libyan War German Autumn Korean Air Lines Flight 902 Nicaraguan Revolution Uganda–Tanzania War NDF Rebellion Chadian–Libyan War Second Yemenite War Grand Mosque seizure Iranian Revolution Saur Revolution New JEWEL Movement 1979 Herat uprising Seven Days to the River Rhine Struggle against political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union
1980s	Salvadoran Civil War Soviet–Afghan War Eritrean War of Independence Summer Olympic boycotts (1980 · 1984 · 1988) Gera Demands Peruvian Revolution August Agreements Solidarity Assassination of Jerzy Popiełuszko 1980 Turkish coup d'état Ugandan Bush War Gulf of Sidra incident Martial law in Poland Casamance conflict Falklands War 1982 Ethiopian–Somali Border War Ndogboyosoi War United States invasion of Grenada Able Archer 83 Star Wars 1985 Geneva Summit Iran–Iraq War Somali Rebellion Reykjavík Summit 1986 Black Sea incident South Yemeni crisis Toyota War 1987 Lieyu massacre Operation Denver 1987–1989 JVP insurrection Lord's Resistance Army insurgency 1988 Black Sea bumping incident 8888 Uprising Solidarity (Soviet reaction) Contras Central American crisis Operation RYAN Korean Air Lines Flight 007 People Power Revolution Glasnost Perestroika Bougainville conflict First Nagorno-Karabakh War Afghan Civil War United States invasion of Panama 1988 Polish strikes Polish Round Table Agreement 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre Revolutions of 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall Fall of the inner German border Velvet Revolution Romanian Revolution Peaceful Revolution
1990s	Mongolian Revolution of 1990 Min Ping Yu No. 5540 incident Gulf War Min Ping Yu No. 5202 German reunification Yemeni unification Fall of communism in Albania Breakup of Yugoslavia Dissolution of the Soviet Union 1991 August Coup Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
Frozen conflicts	Abkhazia China-Taiwan Korea Kosovo South Ossetia Transnistria Sino-Indian border dispute North Borneo dispute
Foreign policy	Truman Doctrine Containment Eisenhower Doctrine Domino theory Hallstein Doctrine Kennedy Doctrine Johnson Doctrine Peaceful coexistence Ostpolitik Brezhnev Doctrine Nixon Doctrine Ulbricht Doctrine Carter Doctrine Reagan Doctrine Paasikivi–Kekkonen doctrine Rollback Kinmen Agreement
Ideologies	Capitalism Chicago school Conservatism American conservatism Democratic capitalism Keynesianism Liberalism Libertarianism Monetarism Neoclassical economics Reaganomics Supply-side economics Socialism Communism Marxism–Leninism Fidelismo Eurocommunism Guevarism Hoxhaism Juche Ho Chi Minh Thought Maoism Stalinism Titoism Trotskyism Other Imperialism Anti-imperialism Nationalism Ultranationalism Chauvinism Ethnic nationalism Racism Zionism Anti-Zionism Fascism Neo-Nazism Islamism Totalitarianism Authoritarianism Autocracy Liberal democracy Illiberal democracy Guided democracy Social democracy Third-worldism White supremacy White nationalism White separatism Apartheid Finlandization
Organizations	NATO SEATO METO EEC Warsaw Pact Comecon Non-Aligned Movement NN States ASEAN SAARC Safari Club
Propaganda	Pro-communist Active measures Izvestia Neues Deutschland Pravda Radio Moscow Rudé právo Trybuna Ludu TASS Soviet Life Pro-Western Amerika Crusade for Freedom Paix et Liberté Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Red Scare Voice of America
Technologicalcompetition	Arms race Nuclear arms race Space Race
Historians	Gar Alperovitz Thomas A. Bailey Michael Beschloss Manu Bhagavan Thomas Borstelmann Archie Brown Warren H. Carroll Chen Jian Adrian Cioroianu John Costello Michael Cox Nicholas J. Cull Nick Cullather Norman Davies Willem Drees Robert D. English Herbert Feis Robert Hugh Ferrell Sheila Fitzpatrick André Fontaine Anneli Ute Gabanyi John Lewis Gaddis Lloyd Gardner Timothy Garton Ash Gabriel Gorodetsky Greg Grandin Fred Halliday Jussi Hanhimäki Jamil Hasanli John Earl Haynes Patrick J. Hearden James Hershberg Tvrtko Jakovina Tony Judt Oleg Khlevniuk Harvey Klehr Gabriel Kolko Bruce R. Kuniholm Walter LaFeber Walter Laqueur Melvyn P. Leffler Fredrik Logevall Geir Lundestad Vojtech Mastny Jack F. Matlock Jr. Thomas J. McCormick Robert J. McMahon Timothy Naftali Marius Oprea David S. Painter William B. Pickett Ronald E. Powaski Stephen G. Rabe Yakov M. Rabkin Sergey Radchenko M. E. Sarotte Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Ellen Schrecker Giles Scott-Smith Shen Zhihua Timothy Snyder Frances S. Saunders Michael Szonyi Fyodor Tertitskiy Athan Theoharis Andrew Thorpe Vladimir Tismăneanu Patrick Vaughan Alex von Tunzelmann Odd Arne Westad William Appleman Williams Jonathan Reed Winkler Rudolph Winnacker Ken Young Vladislav M. Zubok
Espionage andintelligence	List of Eastern Bloc agents in the United States Soviet espionage in the United States Russian espionage in the United States American espionage in the Soviet Union and Russian Federation CIA and the Cultural Cold War CIA MI5 MI6 United States involvement in regime change Soviet involvement in regime change MVD KGB Stasi
See also	Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Soviet Union–United States relations Soviet Union–United States summits Russia–NATO relations War on terror Brinkmanship Pax Atomica Second Cold War Russian Revolution
Category List of conflicts Timeline

v t e Revolutions of 1989
Internalbackground	Era of Stagnation Communism Anti-communism Criticism of communist party rule Eastern Bloc Eastern Bloc politics Eastern Bloc media and propaganda Emigration from the Eastern Bloc KGB Nomenklatura Shortage economy Totalitarianism Anti-communist insurgencies in Central and Eastern Europe
Internationalbackground	Active measures Cold War List of socialist states People Power Revolution Predictions of the collapse of the Soviet Union Reagan Doctrine Soviet Empire Terrorism and the Soviet Union Vatican Opposition Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
Reforms	Uskorenie Perestroika Demokratizatsiya Khozraschyot 500 Days Program New political thinking Sinatra Doctrine Glasnost Reform and opening up Socialism with Chinese characteristics Đổi Mới
Governmentleaders	Ramiz Alia Nicolae Ceaușescu Mikhail Gorbachev Károly Grósz Erich Honecker Miloš Jakeš Egon Krenz Wojciech Jaruzelski Slobodan Milošević Mathieu Kérékou Mengistu Haile Mariam Ne Win Denis Sassou Nguesso Heng Samrin Deng Xiaoping Zhao Ziyang Todor Zhivkov Siad Barre
Oppositionmethods	Civil resistance Human chains Magnitizdat Polish underground press Political demonstration Protests Samizdat Strike action
Oppositionleaders	Lech Wałęsa Václav Havel Alexander Dubček Ion Iliescu Liu Gang Wu'erkaixi Chai Ling Wang Dan Feng Congde Joachim Gauck Sali Berisha Sanjaasürengiin Zorig Vladimir Bukovsky Boris Yeltsin Viacheslav Chornovil Vytautas Landsbergis Zianon Pazniak Zhelyu Zhelev Aung San Suu Kyi Meles Zenawi Isaias Afwerki Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Pope John Paul II
Oppositionmovements	Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation Charter 77 New Forum Civic Forum Democratic Party of Albania Democratic Russia Initiative for Peace and Human Rights Sąjūdis People's Movement of Ukraine Solidarity Popular Front of Latvia Popular Front of Estonia Public Against Violence Belarusian Popular Front Rastokhez National League for Democracy National Salvation Front Union of Democratic Forces Inter-regional Deputies Group Alliance of Free Democrats Hungarian Democratic Forum
Eventsby location	Central andEastern Europe Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia East Germany Hungary Poland Romania Soviet Union Yugoslavia Soviet Union Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Chechnya Estonia Georgia Latvia Lithuania Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan Elsewhere Afghanistan Angola Benin Burma Cambodia China Congo-Brazzaville Ethiopia Mongolia Mozambique Somalia South Yemen
Individualevents	Jeltoqsan 1987–1989 Tibetan unrest Wars in the Caucasus 1988 Polish strikes Polish Round Table Agreement April 9 tragedy Removal of Hungary's border fence with Austria Hungarian Round Table Talks Pan-European Picnic Baltic Way Monday Demonstrations Alexanderplatz demonstration Fall of the Berlin Wall Fall of the inner German border Malta Summit Black January 1990s post-Soviet aliyah Helsinki Summit Revolution on Granite Reunification of Germany January Events The Barricades Transnistria War 1991 protests in Belgrade 1991 Belarusian strikes Dissolution of the Warsaw Pact August Coup Dissolution of the Soviet Union Tajikistani Civil War Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
Later events	Colour revolution Decommunization Lustration Democratization Economic liberalization Post-Soviet conflicts Neo-Sovietism Neo-Stalinism Post-communism Yugoslav Wars Pink tide
Related	Human rights in the Soviet Union

v t e Eastern Bloc
Soviet Union Communism
Formation	Yalta Conference Soviet occupations Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina Baltic states Hungary Romania 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état Berlin Blockade Soviet response to the Marshall Plan Tito–Stalin split
Soviet-allied states	People's Republic of Albania (to 1961) People's Republic of Bulgaria Czechoslovak Socialist Republic German Democratic Republic Hungarian People's Republic Polish People's Republic Socialist Republic of Romania Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (to 1948)
Organizations	Cominform COMECON Warsaw Pact World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY)
Revolts andopposition	Goryani Movement 1949 East German State Railway strike Rebellion of Cazin 1950 1953 Plzeň uprising 1953 East German uprising 1956 Poznań protests 1956 Hungarian Revolution Prague Spring / Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia 1970 Polish protests June 1976 protests Solidarity / Soviet reaction / Martial law 1981 protests in Kosovo
Conditions	Emigration and defection (list of defectors) Sovietization of the Baltic states Information dissemination Politics Economies Telephone tapping
Dissolution	Revolutions of 1989 Die Wende Fall of the Berlin Wall End of communism in Hungary Velvet Revolution Romanian revolution Fall of communism in Albania Singing Revolution Collapse of the Soviet Union Dissolution of Czechoslovakia January 1991 events in Lithuania January 1991 events in Latvia Breakup of Yugoslavia Yugoslav Wars

Authority control databases
National	France BnF data
Other	IdRef