Anniversary – Twenty-Seven Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Twenty-Seventh Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

This week marks the twenty-seventh anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. The German

Democratic Republic began erecting the notorious wall which split Berlin in two in August 1961.

Thirty-eight years later, destruction of the 3.6 metre wall commenced.

Late on 9th November 1989, German citizens used various tools to break away parts of the wall.

This group of people became known as the “Mauerspechte” which, in English, means “wall

woodpeckers.” Over the course of the next few months, more and more of the wall was

demolished.

It was not until June 1990 that the East German authorities formally commenced demolition

works. Two months later, nearly all the roads and passages that the wall once divided had

been reconstructed. By October that year, “German Reunification,” that is the abolishment of

East Germany and restoring of a united Germany, was complete.

The collapse of the wall received mixed responses. In popular culture, the move was generally

celebrated. Stars like Bon Jovi, Cyndi Lauper and Bryan Adams, came out in force to support the

rejoining of East and West Germany. Some politicians, on the other hand, expressed concern

over the possible consequences of the wall’s demolition. This included the leaders of France and

the UK.

The then UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, is noted for having urged Soviet Union

President, Mikhail Gorbachev, to stop the wall being taken down. "We do not want a united

Germany” said Thatcher. To Thatcher, removing the wall would mean an alteration of the

postwar borders and, as a result, threaten “the stability of the whole international situation.”

Since the fateful night of 9th November 1989, events have been held around the world as a mark

of respect to those who took the bold first steps to removing the divisive wall, as well as those

who lost their lives attempting to escape from East Germany to build a new life in what was seen

by so many to be the land of the free – the West.

If you would like to find out more about the history of the Berlin wall, including its demolition,

visit the website of The Berlin Wall Memorial, part of The Berlin Wall Foundation:

http://www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/

Images below copyright @ The Berlin Wall Foundation

The metal-spike gratings were used at the GDR border fortifications from the mid 60s to the mid 80s and caused serious injury to people fleeing across the border.
Copyright: Berlin Wall Foundation, photo by G. Simons

View over the national monument for the victims of the Berlin Wall and the German division.
Copyright: Berlin Wall Foundation, photo by J. Hohmuth

The Chapel of Reconciliation on the grounds of the former border strip was erected at the very same site where the Reconciliation Church once stood who was blown up by the order of the East German government in 1985, as the border grounds continued to be expanded.
Copyright: Berlin Wall Foundation

The Window of Remembrance shows the victims at the Berlin Wall.
Copyright: Berlin Wall Foundation, photo by J. Hohmuth