Berlin commemorates the 36th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a commemorative event. The mayor emphasized that the courage of the citizens in 1989 was crucial for the restoration of freedom.
Berlin, November 9 (TASR) – Berlin, once a divided city symbolizing the Cold War, on Sunday commemorated the 36th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a memorial service on Bernauer Strasse, which was divided into two parts by it in 1961, DPA reported, writes TASR.
- Berlin commemorated the 36th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
- The fall of the wall symbolizes the end of division and the Cold War.
- Memorial events include commemorations and discussions.
- The Berlin Wall divided the city into eastern and western parts.
- Freedom Week brings conferences and cultural events around the city.
“Courageous citizens brought down the Berlin Wall with their desire for freedom and unity,” said Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner during a commemoration of the fall of the wall on November 9, 1989.
The director of the Berlin Wall Foundation, Axel Klausmeier, emphasized that “the memory of the events of the fall of 1989 obliges us to take responsibility.” During a visit to the Berlin Wall memorial where roses were laid, he added that this responsibility means cultivating tolerance, defending democracy, freedom and human rights and promoting the dream of peaceful coexistence.
The Berlin Wall divided the city into East and West for 28 years. In the fall of 1989, mass demonstrations put such pressure on the leadership of the former German Democratic Republic that on November 9 it opened its borders and allowed its citizens to travel.
Thousands of people crossed from East to West Berlin that evening, and subsequently the internal German border separating East and West Germany also fell.
Berlin is commemorating the anniversary for the first time this year as part of Freedom Week, during which approximately 130 conferences, cultural events and discussions with eyewitnesses of historical events will take place in 80 locations in the city until November 15.
The opening event, called the World Freedom Congress, brought together around 200 dissidents from more than 50 countries with autocratic regimes. At the opening of the event, Mayor Wegner emphasized that the history of Berlin proves that the desire for freedom and democracy cannot be suppressed.
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