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Berlin Wall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Berlin Wall's fall inspires us still:
The fall of the Berlin Wall on November ninth, 1989 represents not only the collapse of totalitarism in Central and Eastern Europe, but is also an impressive symbol of the reunification of Germany and the whole of Europe, commented European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in a statement here Sunday.
"The November ninth, 1989 was a moment in which everything seemed possible, marked by happiness, a desire of freedom and the idea of a peaceful revolution, " he said.
The German people tore it down in pieces, chanting Wir wollen raus! (We want out!) It was an irrepressible festival of freedom that would come to symbolize the eclipse of Soviet communism and the end of the long Cold War, and it would forever change our world. Today, 20 years on, its dismantling inspires us still.
World leaders are gathering in Berlin today, two decades after the fall of the wall, to celebrate and reflect on the event. Find out about some of the key events here.
Today's events to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will range from solemn reflection to high kitsch celebration.
Memorials are planned for the 136 people who died when they tried to cross the border while – in an event reminiscent of International It's a Knockout – 1,000 foam dominoes placed along the wall's route will be tipped over. Dancers dressed as angels will descend from prominent buildings.
At around 2pm, Angela Merkel, the first German leader to grow up in the communist east, will cross the Bornholmer Street bridge, where the first border post opened on the evening of 9 November 1989.
She will be accompanied by the former Soviet president Michael Gorbachev and Poland's former opposition leader and ex-president Lech Walesa.
At around 6pm, Daniel Barenboim, who was in Berlin to witness the events of 1989, will conduct his Staats Kapelle orchestra on an outdoor stage at the Brandenburg Gate.
From 6.30pm, world leaders including Merkel, Gordon Brown, the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, will give speeches.
Afterwards, the dominoes will be toppled and there will be fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate at 8pm.
To mark the anniversary, the Guardian has put together a special Berlin Wall package including a series of videos, audio from those whose lives were affected and interactive guides.
• The historian and columnist Timothy Garton Ash remembers the mood in the German capital after the wall fell. "As as symbol, it lives on, above all, as a image of peaceful liberation," he writes.
Click for detail
: Fall of the Berlin Wall: 20th anniversary celebrations | World news | guardian.co.uk
Berlin Wall's fall inspires us still:
The fall of the Berlin Wall on November ninth, 1989 represents not only the collapse of totalitarism in Central and Eastern Europe, but is also an impressive symbol of the reunification of Germany and the whole of Europe, commented European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in a statement here Sunday.
"The November ninth, 1989 was a moment in which everything seemed possible, marked by happiness, a desire of freedom and the idea of a peaceful revolution, " he said.
The German people tore it down in pieces, chanting Wir wollen raus! (We want out!) It was an irrepressible festival of freedom that would come to symbolize the eclipse of Soviet communism and the end of the long Cold War, and it would forever change our world. Today, 20 years on, its dismantling inspires us still.
World leaders are gathering in Berlin today, two decades after the fall of the wall, to celebrate and reflect on the event. Find out about some of the key events here.
Today's events to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will range from solemn reflection to high kitsch celebration.
Memorials are planned for the 136 people who died when they tried to cross the border while – in an event reminiscent of International It's a Knockout – 1,000 foam dominoes placed along the wall's route will be tipped over. Dancers dressed as angels will descend from prominent buildings.
At around 2pm, Angela Merkel, the first German leader to grow up in the communist east, will cross the Bornholmer Street bridge, where the first border post opened on the evening of 9 November 1989.
She will be accompanied by the former Soviet president Michael Gorbachev and Poland's former opposition leader and ex-president Lech Walesa.
At around 6pm, Daniel Barenboim, who was in Berlin to witness the events of 1989, will conduct his Staats Kapelle orchestra on an outdoor stage at the Brandenburg Gate.
From 6.30pm, world leaders including Merkel, Gordon Brown, the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, will give speeches.
Afterwards, the dominoes will be toppled and there will be fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate at 8pm.
To mark the anniversary, the Guardian has put together a special Berlin Wall package including a series of videos, audio from those whose lives were affected and interactive guides.
• The historian and columnist Timothy Garton Ash remembers the mood in the German capital after the wall fell. "As as symbol, it lives on, above all, as a image of peaceful liberation," he writes.
Click for detail
: Fall of the Berlin Wall: 20th anniversary celebrations | World news | guardian.co.uk
