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Fall of the Berlin Wall | DW
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Germans celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989.
People sitting on Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989

The day the Berlin Wall came down

The Cold War, a global power struggle between dictatorship and democracy, ended in Berlin on November 9, 1989. The course of history, however, was set in motion by decisive events outside the country long before that.  

Everything you need to know about German reunification

The process of reunifying Germany meant contending with the 20th century's fundamental rivalry of capitalism vs. communism. Thirty years on, there's still a lot to be done.  

Francis Fukuyama: 'Spirit of 1989 is still around'

US political scientist Francis Fukuyama (r) and DW's Simon Young

Despite rising populism and nationalism worldwide, historian Francis Fukuyama told DW there is hope for liberal democracy. Thirty years after the Berlin Wall fell, "this desire for life in a freer society still exists."  

The Berlin Wall memorial

Passers-by walk along the course of the Berlin Wall, which is marked by strips of the former wall and metal poles

The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and after years of division, the people of East and West Germany were reunited. Thirty years later, many of their stories have faded. The memorial on Bernauer Strasse recounts their fates.  

Checkpoint Charlie: Cold War history up close

A view of Checkpoint Charlie

The construction of the Berlin Wall began on August 13, 1961. One of eight inner-city border crossings was created on Friedrichstrasse. Today, Checkpoint Charlie is a special place of remembrance.  

Berlin: Brandenburger Tor

The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin landmark

The Brandenburg Gate — the famous symbol of German unity. Finished in 1791, it was and is the dramatic setting of European history. Currently it's the main stage for the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  

The Peaceful Revolution
Demonstrators making the peace sign in Leipzig, October 2, 1989

How East Germans brought down the regime

On October 9, 1989, over 70,000 people gathered in Leipzig calling for freedom and democracy — and security forces did not intervene. DW spoke to participants in the demonstration that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall.  

Eastern Europe reacts to the fall of the Wall

Bildkombo Historische Artikel zum Mauerfall 2

The Romanian newspapers were silent; the Croatian ones cheered along with everyone. And the Berlin state paper didn't even mention the fall of the Berlin Wall in the first days following November 9, 1989. An analysis.  

Germany Today

German reunification: What still divides East and West?

A handshake, one arm extended through a hole in a wall

The geographical division through the middle of Germany may have vanished from maps — but not so much from minds, as DW's Dana Regev has learned.  

Children holding up German flags in blurry focus

German millennials seek their identity

Born before the Berlin Wall fell, the children of the "Third Generation East" were too young to be involved in the events of 1989. Now they're trying to understand how their families lived under communist dictatorships.  

Behind the Wall
Deutschland, Brandenburger-Tor, Maueröffnung 1989

Tracing the division of Berlin

On November 9, 1989 the border from east to west is suddenly opened. That night, champagne corks pop in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The wall becomes history. DW traces the remnants of the wall that divided Berlin.  

Berlin Gedenken an die Opfer des Mauerbaus

The Berlin Wall: A city torn in two

The Berlin Wall went up in almost a single night in 1961. It took nearly three decades to come down.  

Construction on a wall that would divide families and a nation began in 1961, despite East German 'intentions'...

What Germany was like when the Wall went up

The year 1961 saw many changes in Germany – from the Berlin Wall to birth control and the Beatles.  

The GDR: A failed experiment in dictatorship

An East Germany flag hangs on the Berlin Wall in 1990

Germany was divided between 1945 and 1990. Exactly 70 years after the foundation of East Germany, and 30 years after the peaceful revolution that spelled its demise, that division remains palpable.  

Family sitting in a rubber boat in their living room in 1977

Compelling attempts to escape the GDR

Countless attempts were made to escape life in East Germany. Many featured astonishing creativity — and danger.  

Ausstellung Stasi in Berlin - Überwachung und Repression in Ost und West

The Stasi's pervasive footprint across Berlin

After years of research, the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial has mapped thousands of 'conspiratorial' Stasi apartments.  

Brandenburg an der Havel, 1989

Former inmates recall life in Stasi prisons

When Erich Honecker became East Germany's leader, he locked up adversaries in the jail where the Nazis imprisoned him.  

A black and white photograph of a young blonde boy

The stolen children of the GDR

Karin Ranisch has always struggled to believe her son died in an East German hospital in 1975. A search for the truth.  

When the state took children away

Sabine can never forget the moment her daughters were taken, as punishment for her being disloyal to the GDR regime.  

Musicans Christian Kunert, Gerulf Pannach and Wolf Biermann and author Jürgen Fuchs all stand together in a group

GDR artists: Critical, undesired, expatriated

Following a concert in West Germany in November 1976, musician Wolf Biermann was expatriated from the German Democratic Republic. After protests, other artists ended up wanting or having to emigrate from East Germany.  

Watch video 03:33

History of the GDR

GDR adoption scheme

Children once taken away from their parents for political reasons are still affected by the policy.  

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GDR adoption scheme

GDR adoption scheme

Fokus Europa Berlin Mauer

Where did the Berlin Wall once stand?

Doku - 1949 Ein Jahr, zweimal Deutschland

1949 - One Year, Two Germanies

Deutschland Leipzig am Abend

Leipzig: City of the Peaceful Revolution

Tracing History through Art and Architecture

Art and history collide in East Berlin's forgotten diplomatic quarter

Berlin Pankow Kunstaktion Ex-Diplomatenviertel

While traces of divided Berlin are fast disappearing nearly 30 years since the fall of the Wall, a group of artists in the former East Berlin district of Pankow are trying to preserve a monument to a lost era.  

What was it like to peer over the Berlin Wall?

Stefan Roloff with large video stills in background

Looking over the Berlin Wall into East Germany must have been ominous. Artist Stefan Roloff is giving visitors a chance to experience it. He's installed original images from the 1980s where the Berlin Wall once stood.  

Checkpoint Charlie

Remembering when Germany was split in two

Sites central to the East German dictatorship became memorials and museums after the fall of the Berlin Wall. They show the scope of imprisonment and injustice, and remind us of those who tried to fight back.  

Watch video 02:46

Time travel to the GDR with virtual reality technology

Seeing the wall construction, an escape tunnel, or everyday life in the GDR era with VR applications.  

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SHIFT vom 29.09.2020 - Berliner Mauer

Time travel to the GDR with virtual reality technology

Euromaxx 25.+26.09.2020 // KW 39

Once upon a time there was a divided country: East/West German places

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The Berlin Wall, Our Family and Us

East Germany's immigrant workers

East Germany's immigrant workers

Mauerbau Berlin August 1961

Escape from East Berlin

Tschechoslowakei DDR Deutschland Geschichte Ausreise Flüchtlinge Prag Botschaft

A ticket to freedom

Berlin Checkpoint Charlie

They said I had a 'look of uncertainty'

DW reporter Hardy Graupner remembers the optimism and trepidation he felt when the Wall fell.  

Kinderarmut in Deutschland

Born in 1989

The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago, and a generation who never knew divided Germany has grown up, says DW's Greta Hamann.  

Überreste der der alten sozialistischen Sperranlage an der bulgarisch-türkischen Grenze

Escapee and captor meet again, 30 years on

Jürgen Cyrulik aimed to flee East Germany via Bulgaria, but was captured. Decades later, he again meets his captor.  

Everyday Life in the Former East Germany
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German sparkling wine Rotkäppchen

'Ostalgia' for East German brands

Consumer goods from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) had a reputation for shoddy quality and gruesome styling. But decades after the collapse of the communist regime, some East German brands are once again thriving.  

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Underground fashion: The 'Vogue of the East'

Sewing your own clothes in communist East Germany was a subtle act of resistance against the regime. Women who wanted to craft their own style looked to the legendary magazine Sybille — the Vogue of the East.  

Three naked people seen from behind

'FKK has class': East Germany's nudist culture

From lakes to saunas and parks: Is Germany's nudist culture, known as FKK, dying out or still making waves? It's still strong enough to inspire a change of attitude for Berlin-based expats.  

Trabant Auto Trabi DDR | Stroch & Nachwuchs

East Germany's classic car: The Trabant

On November 7, 1957, the first "Trabi" rolled off the line. Thousands of them crossed from East to West Germany in 1989, two years before its production was halted. Explore the history of the car that's now cult.  

Watch video 04:21

'Coming Out' as the Wall comes down

Actor Matthias Freihof remembers celebrating his gay-themed film's premiere as the Berlin Wall fell.  

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'Coming Out' as the Wall comes down

'Coming Out' as the Wall comes down

Fighting against the regime with art

Fighting against the regime with art

A symbol of hope for Lithuania

A symbol of hope for Lithuania

Photographing the world beyond the Wall

Photographing the world beyond the Wall

Sports in East Germany
Katarina Witt in Calgary

GDR athletes who thrived after reunification

These athletes were already standouts in the domestic scene in the GDR. But after the Berlin Wall came down and German reunification took place in October 1990, they went on to make their names on the world stage.  

'Stasi club' BFC Dynamo: What happened to the record East German champions?

Fussball l Das Sportforum Berlin in Hohenschönhausen

With the thirtieth anniversary of German unification on Saturday, the 10-time East German champions are languishing in the fourth division. BFC Dynamo are a unique club battling with the specters of past and present.  

Watch video 04:07

Stories from East Germany

German Reunification - A Personal View

Has reunification been a success for Germans? Former East German civil rights activist Katrin Hattenhauer says everyone in Germany has responsibility to make it work. #katrin hattenhauer #reunification #germany  

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German Reunification - A Personal View

German Reunification - A Personal View

Anne Hahn: Punk and politics in East Germany

Anne Hahn: Punk and politics in East Germany

Ingrid Reimann: East-West romance

Ingrid Reimann: East-West romance

Barbara Köster: Rebelling against postwar stagnation

Barbara Köster: Rebelling against postwar stagnation

Reinhold Grüning: Helping others escape

Reinhold Grüning: Helping others escape

Carsten Schatz: Down with the Wall and out of the closet

Carsten Schatz: Down with the Wall and out of the closet

Bert Ostberg: Western beats in the GDR

Bert Ostberg: Western beats in the GDR

Bundestag 25 Jahre Mauerfall 07.11.2014 Biermann

Interview - "We wanted to transform East Germany" - Interview with Wolf Biermann

Art and Culture in a Divided Germany

How a 1976 concert shook the Berlin Wall

Wolf Biermann

East German musician Wolf Biermann took the stage in West Germany in November 1976. His performance unleashed a chain reaction of criticism from both the communist state and its citizens — with historic consequences.  

Flippig-Book – Mehr Kunst als Werbung

East German movie posters: More art than ads

Movie posters in the former East Germany were designed with fewer limitations and greater creative freedom.  

Wenn Du groß bist lieber Adam Filmszene 1966

10 films forbidden in East Germany

The Berlinale features some of the films produced in East Germany which were shelved by the authorities 50 years ago.  

Filmstill ostPunk! too much future

What it meant to be punk in East Germany

They were outsiders, teenagers, rebelling against confinement. They were despised by citizens loyal to the state, harassed by GDR authorities, and locked up in prison. But being punk also meant freedom.  

Artist Neo Rauch and the Leipzig School

Neo Rauch

He's one of Europe's most successful contemporary artists. The documentary "Neo Rauch - Gefährten und Begleiter" by Nicola Graef offers insights into the life of the media-shy star of the New Leipzig School.  

Lehrgebäude der Technischen Universität Cottbus (Prester-Verlag/Hans Engels)

History of GDR architecture

From postwar reconstruction to beautified concrete slabs, GDR architects built what the country needed and the Socialist Unity Party desired. GDR architecture was diverse and distinct — and much of it still stands.  

Watch video 03:43

Rammstein – Rock export from East Berlin

Risen from the Ruins: The band Rammstein and German reunification.  

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Rammstein – Rock export from East Berlin

Deutschland Udo Lindenberg 2011

The German rock legend talks to DW ahead of German Unity Day

Dance down memory lane in Berlin

Dance down memory lane in Berlin

Exhibit shows gray life in GDR

Exhibit shows gray life in GDR

Rocker Udo Lindenberg: A nightmare for East German authorities

Udo Lindenberg 1983 in der DDR

After being banned from East Germany for years, the rock star and committed peace activist managed to be invited to perform in East Berlin in 1983. Lindenberg is now awarded Germany's Order of Merit.  

Beyond the Wall: East Berlin's many faces explored in exhibition

Deutschland Ausstellung l OST-BERLIN Die halbe Hauptstadt - Bauarbeiter bei Montagearbeiten

East Berlin was the center of power in communist East Germany, but it was also a city where subversive currents thrived. The exhibition "East Berlin. Half a Capital" looks at everyday life in the 1970s and 80s.  

DW euromaxx East Side Gallery im Kino

Berlin's East Side Gallery

In February 1990, 118 artists from 21 countries started painting on the Berlin Wall. By September, more than 100 murals had been created. The Berlin East Side Gallery — one of Berlin's most famous icons — was born.