A Berlin Tale: “20 YEARS AFTER THE WALL CAME DOWN”.

1. A Berlin Tale:“20 YEARS AFTER THE WALL CAME DOWN”. By Ivonne Corichi.

2. A Berlin Tale. Berliners celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall which for decades divided communism from democracy, east from west and families from each other.

3. A Berlin Tale. The Berlin wall was built in 1961 by the German Democratic Republic. It was the solution to a massive migration to West Germany after World War II. The GDR lost over 20% of it’s citizens, whom left Eastern Germany to find a better life.

4. A Berlin Tale. The Wall was built by a recommendation of the Soviet Union. It had four versions: *Wired fence (1961). *Improved wired fence (1962-1965). *Concrete wall (1965-1975). *Border wall 75 (1975-1989). The wired fence was weaker than the concrete wall. The concrete wall was less dangerous than the wired fence, because it stopped the killings of people who wanted to cross to West Germany.

5. A Berlin Tale. From 1961 to 1989 the visits to East Germany were limited to some citizens whom individually requested a tourist visa. West Germans were allowed to enter only after 1971, and visits before then were only during Christmas of the first years. The gray German concrete wall separated a lot of things, not only people.

6. A Berlin Tale. East Germans were not allowed to travel outside GDR’s borders. Only some exceptions were made to old age pensioners, professionals and important family matters. East Berliners were punished, which made a statement to eastern bloc countries.

7. A Berlin Tale. During a speech at the Brandemburg Gate commemorating the 750th. anniversary of Berlin on 1987, US President Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorvachev to tear down the wall as a symbol of increasing freedom in the eastern bloc. The western bloc are countries where freedom and democracy rule over dictators and censorship.

8. A Berlin Tale. Some East European countries removed it’s physical borders in 1989,which lead to another massive Eastern German migration. This might have been the spark, which detonated several pacific demonstrations in both Berlins.

9. A Berlin Tale. On November 9th. GDR’s new leader Egon Krenz, allowed refugees exit directly through crossing points, and proposed free travel as well. The GDR’s spokesman announced this at a press conference which was televised incomplete in West Germany and it’s moderator might have misunderstood the context and announced a “Historic Day… East Germany opened it’s borders to everyone”.

10. A Berlin Tale. East and West Germans, soon gathered at the wall. The guards were outnumbered and opened the gates of checkpoints and allowed free crossings. People started chipping the wall with hammers and demolished lengthy parts of the wall. They might sell the concrete chips as souvenirs.

11. A Berlin Tale. Between November 9th. and December 23, West Germans were allowed into East Germany under restrictive visits. This might have been a peaceful period while migration officers decided a visa-free travel and the start of the German reunification concluded in the first week of October 1990.

12. A Berlin Tale. This week Germans celebrate the 20th. Anniversary of the fall of Berlin’s Wall with the “Festival of Freedom”. During this festival, thousands of foam domino tiles will be stacked along the wall’s perimeter.

13. A Berlin Tale. Today, there are world citizens that might not know about this, and live in oppression. Is there a possibility they’ll know? I invite you to tear down the walls and the boundaries authorities put around us. Like East and West Germans, let’s speak out loud and manifest peacefully our thoughts.