10/11/2014
Germany Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall - WSJ - WSJ
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or
customers visit http://www.djreprints.com.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/merkel-hails-fall-of-berlin-wall-as-proof-dreams-can-come-true-1415537034
EUROPE NEWS
Germany Celebrates 25th Anniversary
of Fall of Berlin Wall
Merkel Hails Fall of Berlin Wall as Proof ‘Dreams Can Come True’
By HARRIET TORRY
Updated Nov. 9, 2014 5:29 p.m. ET
BERLIN—White balloons spanning a stretch of the former death strip floated over
hundreds of thousands of revelers in the German capital on Sunday, culminating a
day of celebrations to mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
MORE ON THE BERLIN WALL
Gorbachev Warns World Is ‘On Brink of New Cold War’
(http://online.wsj.com/articles/gorbachev-warns-world-is-on-brink-of-new-cold-war1415459039)
In Reunited Germany, One Town Remains Divided (http://online.wsj.com/articles/in-reunitedgermany-one-town-remains-divided-1415342290)
After Fall of Berlin Wall, German Reunification Came With a Big Price Tag
(http://online.wsj.com/articles/after-fall-of-berlin-wall-german-reunification-came-with-a-bigprice-tag-1415362635)
Did Journalists’ Questions Topple the Berlin Wall? (http://online.wsj.com/articles/didjournalists-questions-topple-the-berlin-wall-1415379182)
Berliners Grit Their Teeth as Rich Newcomers Damp Bohemian Vibe
(http://online.wsj.com/articles/berliners-grit-their-teeth-as-rich-newcomers-damp-bohemianvibe-1415244794)
Photos: When the Wall Came Down (http://online.wsj.com/articles/pictures-when-theberlin-wall-came-down-1415546963)
More than 300,000 people gathered in Berlin to watch a light installation of 8,000
http://online.wsj.com/articles/merkel-hails-fall-of-berlin-wall-as-proof-dreams-can-come-true-1415537034
1/4
10/11/2014
Germany Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall - WSJ - WSJ
A man hammers away at the Berlin Wall
on Nov. 12, 1989 as the border barrier
between East and West Germany was
torn down after 28 years, symbolically
ending the Cold War. AP
helium balloons tracing a nine-mile stretch be released into the night sky, police
said. The illuminated balloons snaked past historic locations such as Checkpoint
Charlie as part of a celebration that included music and fireworks at the city’s
Brandenburg Gate—a location once circumvented by the wall.
Speaking earlier in the day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the fall of the
Berlin Wall proof that dreams could come true during a ceremony to mark the
event’s 25th anniversary. She added that its collapse offered hope to regions where
“freedom and human rights are threatened or even trampled on.”
For days, celebrations throughout Germany have been commemorating the opening
of the East German border on Nov. 9, 1989. The breaching of the border heralded the
collapse of the Communist system and led to German reunification less than a year
later.
“The Berlin Wall, this concrete-cast symbol of state despotism, brought millions of
people to the edge of the endurable,” said Ms. Merkel, herself a child of the former
East Germany. At the time of the wall’s fall, she was a 35-year-old scientist in East
http://online.wsj.com/articles/merkel-hails-fall-of-berlin-wall-as-proof-dreams-can-come-true-1415537034
2/4
10/11/2014
Germany Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall - WSJ - WSJ
Germany Marks 25th Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall »
3 of 7
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at a memorial in Bernauer Strasse, Berlin. FABRIZIO
BENSCH/REUTERS
Berlin.
The timing of the release of the balloons on Sunday roughly coincided with the
historical moment, at 6:57 p.m. local time, when on Nov. 9, 1989, then-East German
Politburo member Günter Schabowski replied to a journalist’s question at a news
conference to the effect that the Communist state was to open its borders
immediately. His response prompted hoards of Berliners to flock to and breach
border crossings as East German guards stood by.
At the site of the wall on Sunday, 29-year old student Adam Schymura said the wall
of lights was “a very nice idea, I don’t remember the fall of the wall 25 years ago, but
look at all the people coming here to see it.”
“It’s so visible like the wall was so visible; it’s nice that it’s following its path” said
Heidrun Kühn, 71, a retired public servant from the former East Berlin who was
standing by the Spree river to watch the balloons with her family.
The celebrations also paid tribute to those who died trying to flee Communism for
the West. An official estimate of the number of people who died trying to cross the
Berlin Wall is 138. Altogether, around a thousand people died attempting to cross the
856-mile border between the former West and East Germany.
Write to Harriet Torry at [email protected]
http://online.wsj.com/articles/merkel-hails-fall-of-berlin-wall-as-proof-dreams-can-come-true-1415537034
3/4
10/11/2014
Germany Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Fall of Berlin Wall - WSJ - WSJ
Copyright 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by
copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/merkel-hails-fall-of-berlin-wall-as-proof-dreams-can-come-true-1415537034
4/4