Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall, built in 1961 by East Germany to prevent emigration to the West, stood as the most visible symbol of the Iron Curtain dividing Europe. On November 9, 1989, the East German government unexpectedly announced that citizens could cross freely. Thousands of jubilant Berliners climbed the wall, began dismantling it with picks and hammers, and celebrated with West Berliners. The fall triggered rapid political changes: German reunification on October 3, 1990, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, and ultimately the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The event marked the symbolic end of the Cold War.