Which West German foreign minister addressed refugees at the Prague embassy in 1989?

The West German foreign minister who addressed refugees at the Prague embassy in 1989 was Hans-Dietrich Genscher. On 30 September, he went to the West German embassy in Prague after thousands of East German citizens had crowded into its grounds seeking permission to leave for the West.

Genscher announced from the embassy balcony that an agreement had been reached allowing the refugees to depart for West Germany. The crowd’s cheers famously drowned out the end of his sentence, but the announcement became one of the most emotional moments of the 1989 crisis. The first refugee trains left Prague for Bavaria the following day.

This episode helped expose the East German government’s weakening control and intensified pressure for reform. It is often confused with the later events surrounding the Berlin Wall, but the Prague embassy speech occurred on 30 September, more than a month before the Wall opened on 9 November. Genscher later played a major diplomatic role in negotiating German reunification.