Reunification: How The Wall Fell
East German policemen at the wall crossing point at Bornholmer Strasse north of the city center. Border police were caught off guard as masses of East Germans approached the border following a television announcement earlier in the evening. Berlin district leader Guenther Schabowski said that expanded freedom of travel rights for Easterners were to go into effect immediately.
The streets around the border crossing at Bornholmer Strasse in Berlin filled slowly on the evening of Nov. 9, 1989. Having seen the televised announcements, they wanted to get across. The border guards had heard nothing of the announcement.
Trabants, Ladas and Wartburgs stacked up for up to two kilometers waiting to cross the border at Bornholmer Strasse. Still, the border remains closed.
The border guards still don't know how to react. In the meantime, thousands have shown up to cross the border. Finally the guards receive instructions: let the rowdy ones across, but don't let them come back.
At the Bornholmer Strasse border crossing, the scene becomes tumultuous. The waiting East-Berliners see that some are allowed to cross, but don't realize the risk of losing their citizenship.
The anger grows. Those waiting demand their new freedoms granted that afternoon by the Central Committee.
The masses march forward in unison. Still, each passport is carefully examined and the border guards stamp each as invalid.
The first step in the West. This East Berlin woman made it past the border controls.
Overwhelmed by her emotions, she screams with joy.
The first cars pass through the border. "I want back in," says one East Berliner. "My child is at home sleeping."
Those waiting begin shouting ever-more loudly, "the wall must come down," and "we want to cross."
At the gate, the situation threatens to get out of control. The police still have no instructions to open the border. In the meantime, 20 to 30 thousand people have gathered in Bornholmer Strasse.
The masses press as far forward as possible, but still people are only allowed to trickle across the border one at a time.
Finally, the border guards succumb to the masses and open the gates. "We can't hold out any more," reports one of the police officers to the secret police (Stasi) headquarter.
Slowly, the border police leave their posts. They have nothing more to do.
At this moment, the border guards have completely lost any significance and importance. The once-feared death strip between West and East Berlin has been transformed into a boulevard.
The masses have won in a peaceful revolution. This historical event was filmed by a SPIEGEL TV camera team.
By 11:30 p.m., the border crossing at Bornholmer Strasse is completely open. The police report a flow of people from the East to the West "like ants."
The border guards remain behind.
