November 9, 1989:The day the wall fell

With Monday demonstrations and mass escapes, the GDR citizens bring a regime to its knees. The borders open on November 9, 1989, 327 days later Germany is reunited.

"As far as I know, this is ... immediately, without delay" - with these words on the new GDR travel regulations, Politburo spokesman Günther Schabowski involuntarily heralded the end of the division of Germany on November 9, 1989 at 6:53 p.m.

Schabowski's slip of the tongue makes history

The travel regulation is intended to allow GDR citizens to leave the country on a permanent basis as well as private vacation trips to the West - after application to the authorities and only from November 10th. But Schabowski is unprepared, gets bogged down, declares the border to be open "with immediate effect." A message that spreads like wildfire. Shortly thereafter, thousands of GDR citizens were already gathering at the Berlin border crossings. The surprised border guards, who have no clear instructions on how to behave, finally give in to the pressure of the crowds and open the gates. People rush to the West, East and West Germans hug each other, sing and celebrate together. The Wall and the inner-German border have fallen.

Mass exodus:a people leave their country

Even if the opening of the border surprised people in East and West equally on this historic evening, it is a logical consequence of the events of the weeks before. You have made it clear that the GDR regime is politically devastated. From August, thousands of GDR citizens flee across the Hungarian border to the West, while others gather in the West German embassies in Prague and Warsaw. Ultimately, the GDR leadership felt compelled to allow the embassy refugees to emigrate to the West. There were around 4,000 people on October 1 alone, but just a few days later there were again around 7,000 people in the Prague embassy.

"We are the people!" - Hundreds of thousands take to the streets

Others make a conscious decision to stay in the GDR. They want to change the country. They join together in civil rights movements such as the New Forum, demanding democratic reforms and freedom to travel. Every Monday people gather to demonstrate together, first in Leipzig, then across the country. Soon there were thousands, then hundreds of thousands, who took to the streets at the so-called Monday demonstrations, shouting "No violence!" and "We are the people!"

7. October:An ailing country celebrates itself

On October 7, 1989, the GDR celebrates its 40th anniversary. While the SED toasted the achievements of the workers' and peasants' state in the Palace of the Republic with the assembled prominent politicians from the Eastern bloc, including Mikhail Gorbachev, people gathered outside on the street. In Berlin they shout "Gorbi, help us!" and "Freedom!", in Rostock they organize a silent march - and stay away from the prescribed jubilee celebrations with a fleet parade.

Political turning point? Cross promise no longer works

The SED tries to pull the ripcord, pushing the head of the State Council, Erich Honecker, out of office. After Honecker's resignation on October 18, his successor, Egon Krenz, announced a "political turnaround". But the people in the GDR can no longer be fobbed off with promises. From November 1, tens of thousands will travel west via the reopened border with Czechoslovakia. In the GDR itself, more and more dissatisfied people are daring to take to the streets. On November 4 alone, half a million demonstrators gathered at Alexanderplatz in Berlin - the largest demonstration in the history of the GDR. Four days later, the SED Politburo resigned en masse.

The night the wall fell:"It was pure happiness"

When Schabowski announced the new travel regulations on the evening of November 9, the development could no longer be stopped. After the crossings in Berlin, the other border crossings between the GDR and the Federal Republic are also opened shortly after midnight. NDR 2 reporter Andreas Hilmer, who follows the opening of the border at the Marienborn crossing near Helmstedt, remembers:"It was pure happiness. People cried. You could tell something historic was happening here. We didn't think about sleeping, we didn't want to sleep , we couldn't sleep, the GDR citizens couldn't either."

Welcome money gone quickly

Similar images can be seen at the other border crossings in the north:In Lübeck-Schlutup, Salzwedel and Lauenburg, long queues of Trabis, Ladas and Wartburgs form. Everywhere people are embracing and celebrating together. The flow of visitors did not stop for the next few days. The Reichsbahn spontaneously deploys special trains, and many shops in Helmstedt and elsewhere are open around the clock. Every visitor from the GDR receives a welcome bonus of 100 marks. But soon there is no more money available, the Norddeutsche Landesbank has to create new ones.

The call for freedom becomes the call for unity

After the opening of the border, political events also took a turn for the worse. A new government is formed under the new prime minister, Hans Modrow, which announces comprehensive reforms. A round table bringing together the government and the opposition is set up. At the same time, people's demand for reunification is getting louder and louder. The Monday demonstrations now say "We are one people!" and "Germany united fatherland". Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl seizes the historic opportunity and presents a ten-point program for German reunification.

3. October 1990:Germany is reunited

At the time, nobody could have guessed how quickly it would go. Kohl gets the four victorious powers of World War II to agree to reunification. The first and last free People's Chamber elections on March 18, 1990 are determined by the desire of the majority of East Germans for reunification. On July 1, the State Treaty on the Monetary, Economic and Social Union of the two German states comes into force. This made the D-Mark the sole means of payment in the GDR. On October 3, the GDR joins the Federal Republic of Germany. Germany is reunited 327 days after the fall of the Wall.