The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, on 9 November.
East Germany built the wall in 1961 to stop the large-scale movement of its citizens from East Berlin into West Berlin. The barrier divided families, neighborhoods, and transport routes, becoming one of the clearest physical symbols of the Cold War division between communist Eastern Europe and the Western bloc.
On 9 November 1989, an East German official announced new travel regulations at a press conference. His wording suggested that the rules took effect immediately, prompting crowds to gather at border crossings. Guards eventually opened the gates, and people crossed freely into West Berlin.
The wall’s opening did not itself reunify Germany. German reunification formally occurred on 3 October 1990, after diplomatic negotiations and legal arrangements. The fall of the wall nevertheless accelerated the collapse of communist governments across Eastern Europe and became a defining event of the late twentieth century.