← Home
The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, and the cascade of revolutions that ended the Cold War. Whittle narrates the most consequential evening of the 20th century — when a bureaucratic blunder opened the gates that had divided Europe for 28 years.
Canon
•
The first East Berliners who walked to the Wall after Schabowski's announcement didn't know whether the guards would shoot. They walked toward the Wall anyway. That first step required extraordinary courage.
Highlights
•
The Berlin Wall fell because of a bureaucratic error at a press conference — history turns on accidents
East German spokesman Gunter Schabowski misread a memo at a press conference, accidentally announcing that border crossings were open 'immediately.' Within hours, the Wall was being torn down. 40 years of Cold War ended partly by accident.