The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, marking the opening of East Germany’s border.
East Germany began building the wall in August 1961 to stop large numbers of its citizens from leaving for West Berlin and West Germany. The barrier divided streets, neighborhoods, and families, and became one of the clearest symbols of the Cold War.
On 9 November 1989, government spokesman Günter Schabowski announced new travel rules and incorrectly suggested that they took effect immediately. Crowds gathered at border crossings, and guards eventually opened them. People then crossed freely, while celebratory crowds began dismantling parts of the wall.
The wall’s fall did not itself reunify Germany. Reunification followed on 3 October 1990, after negotiations involving the two German states and the four Allied powers that had occupied Germany after World War II. Sections of the wall remain preserved as historical memorials.