05

The contrasting themes and traditions in Classical and Baroque Sculpture

President Ronald Reagan

Fall of the Berlin Wall

On the evening of November 9, 1989, an announcement made by East German government official Günter Schabowski blundered by stating, "Permanent relocations can be done through all border checkpoints between the GDR (East Germany) into the FRG (West Germany) or West Berlin."

People were in shock. East Germans tentatively approached the border and indeed found that the border guards were letting people cross. Very quickly, the Berlin Wall was inundated with people from both sides. Some began chipping at the Berlin Wall with hammers and chisels. There was an impromptu huge celebration along the Berlin Wall, with people hugging, kissing, singing, cheering, and crying. The fall of the Berlin Wall happened nearly as suddenly as its rise.

November 9, 1989

http://history1900s.about.com/od/coldwa1/a/berlinwall.htm