The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and 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.
Germans stand on top of the Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate, before this section was torn down on December 9 1989 in the hours before the West German leader walked through the Gate to greet his East German counterpart
This section of the Wall's "death strip" featured Czech hedgehogs, a guard tower and a cleared area, 1977.
The press conference on 9 November 1989 by Günter Schabowski (seated on stage, second from right) and other East German officials which led to the fall of the Wall. Riccardo Ehrman is sitting on the floor of the podium with the table just behind him.
DPA bulletin
9 November in German history
9 November has been the date of a series of events that are considered political turning points in recent German history, some of which also had international repercussions. In particular the anniversaries of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the beginning of the November pogroms in 1938, the Munich Putsch in 1923 and the proclamation of the Republic in 1918 during the November Revolution in Berlin, when viewed together in their respective contexts and received in relation to one another, form, contextually and ideologically contrasting and polarizing highlights of the historical-political examination of Germany's history, especially that of the 20th century.
Philipp Scheidemann during the proclamation of the Republic on November 9, 1918
50th anniversary of the Kristallnacht (November 9, 1938): Deutsche Bundespost stamp, 1988
The execution of Robert Blum by Austrian troops, 9 November 1848.
Berlin, Philipp Scheidemann proclaims the Republic, 9 November 1918.