The German capital on Saturday watched thousands of people celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago.
The Berlin Wall, built in 1961, stood for 28 years on the front lines of the Cold War between the Americans and the Soviets. The wall carved a 156.4 kilometre (97.2 mile) strip through the heart of Berlin and the surrounding countryside, and through the hearts of many of its residents. When the border was opened 35 years ago, it was less than a year before the country was reunited on 3 October 1990. Today, only a few sections of the wall remain, mostly as a tourist attraction.
It was “a lucky day for which we Germans are still grateful today,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
To commemorate the anniversary, organisers created a temporary wall of 5,000 posters. The posters combine the demands of the protesters in East Germany in the autumn of 1989, such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of movement, with today’s desires and were created through workshops in schools, churches and local art groups. Saturday night professional and amateur musicians performed songs on various stages along the former wall.
Uphold freedom, because without freedom everything else is nothing. Freedom and democracy have never been a matter of course, said Berlin’s mayor, Kai Wegner, at an official anniversary event at the Berlin Wall memorial with Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
