Germans Mark The 34th Anniversary Of The Fall Of The Berlin Wall With A Series Of Commemorations.
By Olusiji Balogun
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that physically and ideologically separated Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The wall was sometimes called the “Wall of Shame” – a term coined by Mayor Willy Brandt in reference to the Wall’s restriction of freedom of movement.
After World War II, Germany was defeated and Allied forces entered the country. The country was divided between the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union.
Although Berlin, the capital, was in the Soviet zone, it too was divided into four sectors.
On October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was established and the two Germanys began to evolve in different ways.
The Berlin Wall would not be built until 1961. After an estimated 3.7 to 4 million Easterners fled to the West, the border was closed and a wall was erected that would divide the country for 28 years.
On November 9, 1989, the East German government announced that all citizens of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) could visit West Germany and West Berlin.
Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a festive atmosphere.
The demolition of the Wall officially began on June 13, 1990, and ended in November 1990. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, the former East Germany’s entry into the European Union, but beyond German borders, it was a final symbol of the Berlin Wall. Iron, throughout Europe.
The decline also served to pave the way to the European Union, finally achieved in 2004.
The German Embassy in Nigeria on their verified X (formerly twitter) celebrated this even thus “On this day, 34years ago, the wall dividing Germany fell, reuniting East & West Germany”.
It stated further, “On this day 85 years ago, the Pogrom night with the devastation of synagogues & terror against Jewish citizens took place. We therefore have a special responsibility to combat anti-Semitism”
