November 9, 1989 - The Berlin Wall collapsed, Germany united

East and West Germany were formally consolidated on October 3, 1990, almost a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, becoming the Federal Republic of Germany today.

November 9, 1989 - The Berlin Wall collapsed

On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall collapsed after 28 years of construction, ending the separation of Germany. Currently, the rest of the wall is decorated with many works of art. The Berlin Wall, separating the eastern and western parts of the city, is one of the most powerful symbols of the Cold War . Its collapse led to German unification and marked an important milestone in modern world history.

On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall collapsed after 28 years of construction, ending the separation of Germany.

On August 13, 1961, the government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) began erecting barbed wire fences and "anti-fascist walls" (Antifascistischer Schutzwall) , between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to prevent the so-called "fascists" of the West from entering East Germany, but it also prevented large-scale evacuation from East to West. The Berlin Wall stood still until November 9, 1989, when the leader of the GDR unified government announced that GDR's citizenship could cross the border whenever they wanted.

That night, crowds rushed to the wall. Some are free to cross to enter West Berlin, while others take hammers, punchers and start chiseling the wall. To date, the Berlin Wall remains one of the most powerful, long-lasting symbols of the Cold War. When World War II ended in 1945, two allied peace conferences in Yalta and Potsdam decided the fate of German territories. They divided the defeated country into 4 "allies of the ally". The eastern part of the country belongs to the Soviet Union, while the western part belongs to the United States, Britain and France. Although Berlin lies entirely in the control of the Soviet Union (more than 160 km from the east and west boundaries), the Yalta and Potsdam treaties divide the city into similar parts. The Soviet Union governed the eastern half, and other allies controlled the western part. The capture of four parties in Berlin began in June 1945.

The fact that West Berlin, a capitalist city, existed deep in East German society under socialism, "as a bone in the throat of the Soviet Union," as Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev once said. In 1948, a Soviet West Berlin blockade took place to force the Western allies to starve and to leave the city. However, instead of withdrawing, the US and its allies rescued from the air for their regions in the city. This effort was known as the Berlin Airlift and lasted for more than a year, transporting more than 2.3 million tons of food, fuel and other goods to West Berlin. The Soviet Union stopped its blockade in 1949.

Since the end of the Soviet Union, nearly three million people have evacuated from East Germany, many of them young, skilled people, like doctors, teachers, and engineers. After a relatively peaceful decade, tension broke out again in 1958. Other conferences and negotiations took place without any solution, while the evacuees continued. In June 1961, about 19,000 people left GDR through Berlin. The following month, 30,000 evacuated. In 11 days in August, 16,000 East Germans crossed the boundary to enter West Berlin, and on August 12, this number was about 2,400, the largest number of people displaced from East Germany in a single day . That night, the East German government decided to stop the flow of displaced people by closing the border permanently. In just two weeks, the East German army, police and volunteer construction workers completed barbed wire and concrete walls, the Berlin Wall, blocking the city.

Before the wall was built, the Berlin people on both sides could move quite freely.

Before the wall was built, the Berlin people on both sides could move quite freely. They crossed the East-West border to work, shop, go to theaters and theaters. Train and subway routes take passengers up and down. After the wall was erected, it was impossible to travel from East to West Berlin, except through one of three checkpoints: Alpha station at Helmstedt, Bravo station in Dreilinden and station Charlie in Friedrichstrasse, central Berlin. Finally, the GDR built 12 checkpoints along the wall. At each station, East German soldiers checked diplomats and other officials before they were allowed to go or come. Except in special cases, people traveling from East and West Berlin rarely cross the border. The construction of the Berlin Wall did not stop the influx of people from East to West, but eased the Berlin crisis. US President John F. Kennedy also admitted "a wall is a lot better than a war". Over time, East German officials replaced the temporary wall with a firmer, more difficult wall.

A wall made of reinforced concrete panels of 3.6m high, 1.2m wide with the upper part is a giant pipe that makes climbing almost impossible. Behind the wall in East Germany consists of a strip of soft sand (to show footprints), headlights, fierce dogs, machine guns, guards and guards with instructions to shoot those who fled. At least 171 people died when trying to pass, below or around the Berlin Wall. However, from 1961 until the wall collapsed in 1989, more than 5,000 East Germans (including about 600 border guards) crossed the boundary by jumping from the building window near the wall, climbing over the rope. barbed wire, fly by balloon, crawl through sewers and drive across open sections of walls.

At least 171 people died when trying to pass, below or around the Berlin Wall.

During the Cold War's "thaw" in Eastern Europe, on November 1, 1989, Egon Krenz, the new East German leader to the Kremlin, met Mikhail Gorbachev, the Communist Party General Secretary. Shove. According to the International Business Times, in this secret meeting, Mr. Krenz brought a gloomy message: the East German economy is on the verge of collapse and the GDR cannot pay interest on huge debts, which are already in the money. Krenz's duties are hidden from the top advisers of him and the Soviet leaders. Krenz told Gorbachev that without financial and military support from the Soviet Union, East Germany would have to announce a state of emergency to prevent large-scale anti-government protests in Leipzig from spreading to Berlin. However, Gorbachev claimed that the responsibility to stop large-scale evacuation from GDR belonged to Mr. Krenz.

"Soon after, Gorbachev issued instructions to remind military generals that any Soviet army could not participate in the conflict between Berlin's government and East German citizens." historian, journalist Victor Sebestyen tells about the events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the book Revolution 1989 (temporarily translated: 1989 Revolution). Gorbachev's policy of refusing to use force prevented the risk of bloodshed when GDR collapsed.

East Berliners and West Berliners poured toward the wall, drinking beer and champagne, shouting "Tor auf!"(Open the door!).

On November 9 , 1989 , East Berlin's ruling party spokesman announced the change in travel policy. The man said that from that night, GDR citizens were free to cross the boundary. East Berliners and West Berliners poured toward the wall, drinking beer and champagne, shouting "Tor auf!" (Open the door!). At midnight, they overflowed through checkpoints. More than two million people from East Berlin visited West Berlin that weekend to celebrate in an event described as "the greatest street festival in world history". Those who use hammers, punchers to chisel walls are called "woodpeckers on the wall" , while cranes and bulldozers collapse each part of the wall. Soon after, the wall collapsed and Berlin was unified for the first time since 1945.

East and West Germany were formally consolidated on October 3, 1990, almost a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, becoming the Federal Republic of Germany today.