November 9, 2009, 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

November 9, 12:10 AMSF Travel Tips ExaminerJennifer Baeta

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     Photo Courtesy of evropskemesto.cz

Today, November 9, 2009 West and East Germans will celebrate 20 years of freedom, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breaking down of barriers.

Two decades have now passed since that fateful night when the German people created a revolution. After several weeks of protests and demonstrations, they succeeded in breaking down the borders that once held them captive, creating what we now call the "fall of the (Berlin) Wall".

The famous Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 and was a physical barrier, guarded by heavily armed guards, and was more than 87 miles long. The border that separated families, and changed the livelihood for all Germans defined the fact that East Germany would remain a Soviet controlled communistic area, until the fall of the wall.

The Berlin Wall was in the beginning phases of construction in August 1961, and went through four versions during its existence. 1.Wire fence (1961) 2.Improved wire fence (1962–1965) 3.Concrete wall (1965–1975) Grenzmauer 75 4. (Border Wall 75) (1975–1989) The final version of the Wall, or the "fourth-generation wall", known officially as "Stützwandelement UL 12.11 was the final and most sophisticated version of the Wall. Constructed of 45,000 separate sections of reinforced concrete, each being 12 feet high, 3.9 feet wide, and  its cost was 16,155,000 German Marks. The top of the wall was lined with a smooth pipe, intended to make it more difficult to scale. It was reinforced by mesh fencing, signal fencing, anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire, dogs on long lines, "beds of nails" under balconies hanging over the "death strip", over 116 watchtowers, and 20 bunkers.

The Wall that separated the west from the east confined Eastern Germans within Soviet Communistic territories. Beginning in the 1970’s Western Germans were allowed to travel with a visa into the East German region, however, East German authorities could  refuse entry into the East for any reason, or no reason at all. Beginning in 1964 East Germans could request permission to travel to the west if they fell into certain categories. They had to be age old pensioners, or have extremely important family matters, and each visit had to be approved, and approvals were rarely granted.

During the duration of the Walls existence, more than 5,000 people managed to escape, using tunnels, or hot air balloons on windy days, and  there was one reported incident where a convertible sports car with four passengers sped through the gate with its top down and slid right under the metal bar making its great escape.  Not everyone was so lucky. There has never been a confirmed number of deaths, though it is believed that more than 200 people were executed during the attempt to escape. If an escapee was wounded in a crossing attempt and lay on the death strip, no matter how close they were to the Western wall, they could not be rescued for fear of triggering engaging fire from the 'Grepos', the East Berlin border guards. The guards often let fugitives bleed to death in the middle of this ground, like in the most notorious failed attempt, that of Peter Fechter (aged 18). He was shot and bled to death in full view of the Western media, on August 17, 1962.

On the evening of November, 9th, 1989, a press conference was held announcing the intention to allow Eastern Germans to cross the border, however a gross error was made. When asked when these new tolerances would go into effect, Günter Schabowski who had been on vacation and was not clear on when it was to begin said the words that permanently changed the world: “...effective immediately”. This caused a mad rush of people to flood the border checkpoints, or “Checkpoint Charlies” and the overwhelmed, confused guards had no choice but to let them go. The west was there, waiting, ready to greet loved ones that they hadn’t seen in many years.

On November 9, 2009, Berlin will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a "Festival of Freedom", during which over 1,000 foam domino tiles over 8 feet tall will be stacked along the former route of the wall in the city center and toppled.

Watch the event LIVE 1pm-3pm E.S.T. Nov.9th on: http://www.earthTV.com

Day Long Coverage on earthTV special event site: http://www.earthtv.com/en/node/1012

and on earthTV location site Berlin: http://www.earthtv.com/en/camera-location/berlin-brandenburg-gate-en?program=live&bbtab=1

For more information on the Berlin wall, travel to the Berlin Wall, or to find locations, museums, and institutions that have pieces of the Berlin Wall, please visit: Celebrating 20 years of the fall of the Berlin wall

 Special thanks to John Lavallo for his help with bringing the links for the live coverage, and to   earthTV.com for covering this event.  EarthTV.com brings you the world.

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