Fall of the wall: 25 years since the fall of the Berlin wall

November 9, 2014, marks the 25^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. The wall was erected in 1961 and was brought down after 28 years, in 1989.

The (East) German Democratic Republic built the wall to separate west Berlin from east Berlin and east Germany and to prevent citizens from the communist Eastern Bloc (the Iron Curtain) from defecting to the west after World War II.

In 1989, with the collapse of the Soviet regime, the East German government announced on November 9 that citizens from the east could visit west Berlin and west Germany. This eventually led to the demolition of the wall from 1990-1992, and German reunification on October 3, 1990.

The four-hour celebration features concerts, photographs of the 138 people who died trying to escape over the wall, and giant screens showing the festive activities.

To mark the 25^th anniversary a series of lighted balloons has been placed where the wall once stood. At 7:00pm on November 9, 2014, the release of the 8,000 balloons along the 15 kilometre previous border (the Lichtgrenze - border of light) will commence - one by one.

Photographs provided by H. Uhthoff in Berlin.

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