The East German parliament that was expected to pass the new travel law was the Volkskammer. Its name means “People’s Chamber,” and it was the legislature of the German Democratic Republic from 1950 until German reunification in 1990.
On 9 November 1989, party spokesman Günter Schabowski read out confusing details of new travel regulations at a televised press conference. The temporary rules were meant to remain in force until a corresponding law was enacted by the Volkskammer. When Schabowski appeared to say that the rules took effect immediately, crowds rushed to the Berlin Wall, and border guards eventually opened the checkpoints.
The Volkskammer was often dismissed as a rubber-stamp parliament because the Socialist Unity Party controlled East German politics. That changed during the revolution. In March 1990, East Germany held its first and only free Volkskammer election, producing a government that supported rapid reunification. The Bundesrat and Bundestag were institutions of West Germany, while the Reichstag is a historic building and former German parliamentary name.