How did the Berlin Wall come down in 1989?

The Wall did not fall by a planned decision or by force. On the evening of 9 November 1989, an East German spokesman announced new travel rules in a way that sounded as if the border was open immediately. Crowds gathered at the checkpoints, and overwhelmed guards eventually let people cross. Several sources describe this as a peaceful outcome of months of pressure on the East German state. [1] [2]

According to the US Office of the Historian, East Germany's economic collapse led growing numbers of East Germans to try to emigrate. Gorbachev urged the leadership to reform when he visited in early October, and Erich Honecker was forced to resign about two weeks later while hundreds of thousands marched in major cities. HISTORY adds that East Germany's leaders opposed Gorbachev's reforms and sealed their borders, which it says turned the country into a pressure cooker of mass demonstrations. [3] [4]

On 6 November the leadership published a draft travel law, meant to stop mass departures via Czechoslovakia. Protests followed, and the rules were revised on the morning of 9 November to include private travel visas with no waiting period or special requirements. [1]

Shortly before 7:00 p.m., Politburo member Günter Schabowski announced the regulation at a press conference. Because of communication errors, he said private trips could be applied for without proof of eligibility, reasons or family ties, and that, as far as he knew, the rules took effect immediately. West Germany's ARD led its 8:00 p.m. news with the headline "GDR opens border," and East Berliners headed to the checkpoints. HISTORY notes that in reality travel remained subject to fine print, and the border guards had been given no instructions. [1] [4]

At the Bornholmer Strasse crossing, guards let a few people out at 9:20 p.m. to relieve pressure, stamping their passports invalid so they were in effect expatriated. By about 11:30 p.m. the crowd had grown to tens of thousands. The senior Stasi officer on duty, Harald Jäger, raised the barrier without official orders, and HISTORY reports that he phoned his superior to say he would end all controls. Berlin.de says around 20,000 people crossed the Bösebrücke bridge unchecked in the next hour, and the other crossings in the city opened later that night. [1] [4]

HISTORY says the crowd stayed peaceful, though Jäger and his men feared otherwise, and that camera crews filmed the moment. It also reports that Moscow was not woken that night, and that by the time Gorbachev was informed, reversing events would have required massive bloodshed, which he chose not to pursue. [4]

The Wall was not physically demolished that night. Revolution 89 reports that West Berliners danced on top of it, and that East German border troops did not regain control until 11 November. [5]