"The Wall has not been opened, the Wall has been stormed"

Die Mauer ist nicht geöffnet worden, die Mauer ist gestürmt worden

The Wall has not been opened, the Wall has been stormed

One of the events of the year 1989, which changed the course of world history, was the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9. Today, 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is important to look at different aspects of that historic day. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the events leading up to it have been the subject of extensive research and debate and has been represented in many different ways through art, film and literature.

The collapse of the Berlin Wall was due to a combination of domestic and international pressure and reforms. Internal factors include the increasing economic problems in the GDR, the growing dissatisfaction among the population with the SED dictatorship, and the reform policy of the new SED leadership under General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The rise of the civil rights movement in the GDR and the mass exodus of GDR citizens to the Federal Republic of Germany in the summer and autumn of 1989 were further factors leading to the collapse of the SED regime.

In his speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate on November 21, 1989, Richard von Weizsäcker, then President of the Bundestag, addressed the question of who tore down the Wall: "We all did it." This statement is partly correct, but it does not do justice to the role of those who were directly involved on that day. These were people who had been fighting for freedom and democracy in the GDR for years, people who had risked their lives to escape from the GDR, and people who had campaigned for the opening of the Wall. They were the ones who stormed the Wall and brought down the SED regime.

The fall of the Berlin Wall was a victory for freedom and democracy. It was a victory for the people of the GDR and a victory for all who believe in the power of freedom. The people of the GDR had to fight hard for their freedom, but they did not give up. They fought for their right to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of travel. They fought for their right to live in a democratic society. And they won.