Berlin leaders commemorate fall of Berlin Wall

Berlin commemorated the fall of the Berlin Wall 33 years ago with an event at the Bernauer Strasse memorial on Wednesday, reported dpa.

Among those in attendance were Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey, Senator Klaus Lederer, and Culture Minister Claudia Roth.

Around 200 school children from Germany, France and Norway placed roses around the remains of wall, parts of which are still standing at the original site.

The event also featured a performance by the Belarusian Volny Choir which was formed in August 2020 in reaction to repression in the country. The singers were veiled in order to remain anonymous and protect themselves from state persecution.

On November 9, 1989, after a large wave of departures and massive demonstrations by the opposition, the then GDR leadership opened the borders of East Germany, including between East and West Berlin. Less than a year later, Germany was reunified.

November 9 is the date of two other significant events in German history. In 1918, the Republic was proclaimed in Berlin; in 1938 it was Kristallnacht in which thousands of Jewish synagogues and other institutions were seized and destroyed, and about 30,000 Jewish individuals were taken to concentration camps.