Berlin: Another Giant “Wall” Party?
- April 23rd, 2009
- Posted by EUEditor
It might be too much to hope for an international party on the scale of the spontaneous fun that broke out after the fall of the Berlin Wall … but it’s an anniversary year, so stand by for a bout of commemorations.
The official German magazine, DeutschlandOnline, is giving the matter early attention, offering a special “Wall†edition, in all of its ten languages.
Here is its poster:
20 Years: Fall of the Wall, 60 Years: Federal Republic of Germany
“Germany celebrates two important anniversaries in 2009: the Basic Law was promulgated 60 years ago and the Berlin Wall came down in November 20 years ago.
“The Deutschland issue about these anniversaries takes readers on a journey through 60 years of history and enables many contemporary witnesses to describe events in their own words: the essayist Klaus Harpprecht writes about the Europeanisation of Germany, Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries admits to being a constitutional patriot, actor Jan Josef Liefers reports how he experienced the fall of the Wall in East Berlin and Berlin’s Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit talks about east and west growing together.â€
On 9.11.89 the East German communist party capitulated to mass protests and announced the “internal frontier†between the two Germanies would be opened. Leaders of the then German Democratic Republic hoped to reduce the pressure of people wanting to move West, and to bring down the government.
In the event, in free elections, voters opted to join up with West Germany under its federal constitution – the Basic Law.
Reunification was made official at a party in the Berlin Tiergarten on 3.10.90.
Reference:
DeutschlandOnline, Berlin. http://www.magazine-deutschland.de/en/, (23.4.09).