What phrase did Schabowski use for when the new travel rules would take effect?

When asked when the new travel rules would take effect, Günter Schabowski said, “Immediately, without delay.”

Schabowski, an East German Politburo member and spokesman, made the remark at a televised press conference on 9 November 1989. He had been handed notes about new travel regulations and appeared unfamiliar with some of the details. When journalist Riccardo Ehrman asked when the rules would begin, Schabowski hesitated before giving the phrase that became historically famous.

The intended policy was more complicated and was apparently expected to be implemented later, after administrative preparations. Schabowski’s answer was widely understood as meaning that East Germans could cross the border at once. Western news organizations quickly reported that the GDR had opened its borders, and East Berliners gathered at the checkpoints.

The statement did not itself physically destroy the Wall. Instead, the combination of the broadcast, public pressure, confused instructions, and border guards’ inability to manage the crowds led crossings to open that night. A common mistake is remembering the phrase as simply “the Wall is open”; Schabowski’s actual answer concerned when the new regulations would take effect.