Friday, November 6, 2009

When the Berlin Wall Went Down

There is quite a buzz in here these days, well why not, Germany is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of "the Fall of Belin Wall". Well, may be wondering how come "The Fall of a Wall" is the mark of Celebrations.  Hmm!! it is quite a history. Well, in short, Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 to separate East and Western parts of Berlin, yeah, more so ever to separate East and West Germany. The immediate effects of the building of the Wall led ot the separation of many families and also many lost jobs as borders were completely closed.

On 9th November 1989, ARD, a West German Television Channel broadcasted an incomplete information from East German Press Conference stating that the East Germany has announced  starting immediately its borders are open for everybody. Thousands of East Germans gathered at the Wall and demaded for the opening of the Gates to enter the West. No one could dare to stop and  the borders are opened and that is how the East and West are united and thousands of people gathered at the Wall started celebrations for their freedom and for their unity. Many started chipping off the Wall to break open the borders and aslo to collect the pieces of the famous Berlin Wall as memenots for their Freedum and Unity. From then 9th November is celebrated as "The Fall of the Berlin Wall or The Freedom Day"

Read more at: Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall Now and Then:
1. Branderburg Gate in June 1989 before the Fall of Berlin Wall and now the most famous tourist attraction in Berlin



 2. The Most Famous CheckPoint Charlie in Berlin Now and Then


The complete Album can be browsed here.


The 20th Anniversary celebrations have already started and on Monday, November 9, many World leaders gather at Brandenburg Gate and topple many Giant Dominoes painted by the students placed along the former path of the Berlin Wall to commemorate the "Fall of Berlin Wall".
Image Courtesy: www.spiegel.de

5 comments:

  1. Hard to believe its been 20 years.

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  2. IN just 20 yrs after unification, Germany has fast evolved into one of the most developed nations of the world. I just wish we could achieve that feat...
    Nice post.

    Best regards
    http://hshekhar.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Seema, this is vinaykiran01. My blogcatalog account has been suspend for some unknown reasons. So kindly contact me at vinaykiran28@yahoo.in for any correspondenc. Hope to work together for each others benifit. See you soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Celebrating a fall!!
    Luckily the wall was not built using "Ambuja cement".

    Reading your post made me think about the cement ad which shows two families trying in vain to break a wall of separation between them.

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  5. Nice post. Thanks for the photos showing the "real" difference. Will come back for more for sure.

    ReplyDelete