Günter Schabowski mistakenly announced that new travel rules for the Berlin Wall took effect immediately.
At an international press conference in East Berlin on 9 November 1989, Schabowski read aloud details of a planned regulation allowing East German citizens to apply for private trips abroad. When asked when the rules would begin, he replied, “As far as I know, this is effective immediately, without delay.”
The regulation was actually intended to be implemented later and with administrative procedures. News reports broadcast Schabowski’s statement, prompting thousands of East Berliners to approach border crossings. Unprepared guards eventually opened the gates, leading to the Berlin Wall’s practical collapse that night.
Schabowski was a member of the ruling Socialist Unity Party’s Politburo and served as its spokesperson. A common mix-up is attributing the announcement to Erich Honecker, the former East German leader, or Egon Krenz, who had replaced Honecker shortly before the announcement. Schabowski’s words were the immediate trigger, but months of peaceful protests and political pressure had already weakened the East German government.