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) #
Cold War in Popular culture. Watch this video of the 1989 song "We didn`t start the fire" by Billy Joel and see how many references to this period of history you can find and define.
Now watch this song of 1987 by Australian band INXS called "Guns in the sky",what event/s related to Cold War is the video making reference to? Find evidence in both the lyrics and video images.
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” American President Ronald Reagan famously demanded in 1987 in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviet leader didn’t exactly rush forward at the controls of a bulldozer, and whether the speech had an effect or was simply an example of surfing on the tides of history, with the collapse of other soviet satellite states and mass demonstrations for reform in East Germany, the Berlin Wall did come down, marked on November 9 of 1989.
The Berlin Wall wouldn’t be officially demolished until the summer of 1990. A temporary crossing through the wall was opened at the Brandenburg Gate on December 22, just before Christmas. The wall separating east and west Berlin was first constructed in 1961, went through four generations of reconstruction, but today is almost entirely vanished except for a sometimes recognizable path marked by information stands and a few remaining sections left as an art project. For 2009 in Berlin, a series of special events and exhibitions celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the “peaceful revolution” that lead to the reunification of Germany and a divided Berlin.
The celebration year started with a performance of the Irish band U2 in front of Brandenburg Gate and it will climax on the date of the anniversary, November 9th with a grand public party at Brandenburg Gate. The "Festival of Freedom" begins with an open-air concert at Pariser Platz by the Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Daniel Barenboim. After the concert, the fall of the Berlin Wall will be symbolised with the toppling of a domino wall along the entire wall path. by knocking over dominos. Hundreds of thousands are expected to fill the street festivals in one giant party.
this link will help you with the understanding of the fall of USSR.
