The Berlin Wall, 20 years gone

This file photo shows a man hammering at the Berlin Wall on Nov. 12, 1989, as the border barrier between East and West Germany was torn down after 28 years. (AP Photo/John Gaps III) #

On November 9th, 2009  Germany (and the World)celebrated the 20th anniversary of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall .
This is part of an article of  2009:

Smoke from fireworks surrounds the Brandenburg Gate quadriga in Berlin at the end of the official ceremony to mark the anniversary of the reunificiation of Germany, on November 9, 2009. (LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

Twenty years ago, on the night of November 9, 1989, following weeks of pro-democracy protests, East German authorities suddenly opened their border to West Germany. After 28 years as prisoners of their own country, euphoric East Germans streamed to checkpoints and rushed past bewildered guards, many falling tearfully into the arms of West Germans welcoming them on the other side. Thousands of Germans and world leaders gathered in Berlin yesterday to celebrate the "Mauerfall" - the dismantling of the Berlin Wall and German reunification - and to remember the approximately 100-200 who died attempting to cross the border over the years.

A boy waves to soldiers on the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate on November 10th, 1989. (John Tlumacki/Boston Globe staff) #

People stand on a section of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz. which was opened up on the morning of November 11th, 1989. (John Tlumacki/Boston Globe staff)#

East Berliners get helping hands from West Berliners as they climb the Berlin Wall on November 10th, 1989. (AP Photo/Jockel Finck) #

 West Berlin citizens continuing their vigil atop the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate on November 10, 1989 file photo  (REUTERS/David Brauchli [before]/

Bono of U2 performs during a concert in front of the Brandenburg Gate the on November 5, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. U2 performed a free concert in collaboration with MTV Europe to help the city celebrate 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images) #

Spectators watch as giant, painted styrofoam dominoes stand along the route of the former Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg Gate on November 9, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. The approximately 1,000 dominoes, painted by schoolchildren and artists all over the world, are meant to symbolically represent the end of communist rule across Eastern Europe and are the highlight of celebrations in the German capitol marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. (Henning Schacht-Pool/Getty Images) #

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