November
9, 2014, marks the 25th 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.
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 25th 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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