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Germany Marks The Fall Of The Berlin Wall

November 09, 2014
by RFE/RL

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the fall of the Berlin Wall a quarter of a century ago sends a message of hope to oppressed people around the world today.

Merkel, who grew up in East Germany when it was a Soviet satellite, spoke as three days of emotional ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the Cold War barrier's fall culminated on November 9.

'The fall of the Berlin Wall showed us that dreams can come true -- and that nothing has to stay the way it is, no matter how high the hurdles might seem to be,' Merkel said.

'It showed that we have the power to shape our destiny and make things better. That is the message of the fall of the wall,' Merkel said.

She said, 'It is directed at us in Germany, but also at others in Europe and the world, especially to the people in Ukraine, in Syria, Iraq, and other regions where human rights are threatened or violated.'

'The fall of the Berlin Wall showed us that dreams can come true -- and that nothing has to stay the way it is, no matter how high the hurdles might seem to be,' Merkel added.

Festivities to mark the anniversary have drawn more than 100,000 Berliners and tourists to the center of the city, where 7,000 illuminated helium balloons were perched 3.6 meters (11.8 feet) high on poles to matching the height of the barrier.

The celebrations were due to be capped by a concert and fireworks.

Built in 1961 to stop East Germans fleeing to the West, the Berlin Wall was the starkest embodiment of the Iron Curtain that divided Europe before the collapse of communism.

It began as a brick wall but was developed into a fortified, heavily guarded 155-kilometer barrier.

Before it was breached as communist governments across Eastern Europe collapsed in the face of popular uprisings, at least 138 people were killed trying to escape to West Berlin.

'The day of joy over the fall of the Berlin Wall is also a day of remembrance of its victims,' Merkel said.

Merkel also noted that November 9, 1938 was the date of Kristallnacht, a state-sponsored spree of destruction of Jewish property under Adolf Hitler.

It was 'a day of shame and disgrace,' she said, adding 'that's why I not only feel joy but also historic responsibility.'

Commemorations in Berlin mixed memories of the jubilation unleashed by the fall of the wall with concern about new tensions between Moscow and the West.

Relations are badly strained by Russia's annexation of Crimea and a conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatists that has killed more than 4,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose political and economic reforms hastened the unraveling of Moscow's sphere of influence and the collapse of the Soviet Union itself, warned in Berlin on November 8 that 'the world is on the brink of a new Cold War.'

Gorbachev accused the West, and particularly the United States, of giving in to 'triumphalism' after the collapse of the communist bloc.

Western governments blame Moscow for the tension that is flaring now, accusing Russia of the illegal seizure of Crimea and of extending military and political support to rebels who control parts of eastern Ukraine.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/germany-berlin-wall-celebrations/26681852.html

Copyright (c) 2014. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.