Opposition began to mount against the GDR, from the grass roots upwards, as people became more vocal about their suppression under Communism. There were demonstrations on the streets, with demands for democracy and the right to travel.

When Ronald Regan visited Berlin, he called on Gorbachev to bring down the wall. On 9 November 1989, the GDR suddenly announced that all citizens could take trips, on short notice, without any special reason, outside the GDR.

It was unclear whether this applied immediately, so people gathered by the Berlin Wall in peaceful revolution…and suddenly broke through. The guards did not shoot at them!

In extraordinary scenes, thousands of people began to pour into the West to meet relatives and friends they had not seen in over thirty years. In the coming days and months, various parts of the wall were dismantled, until it was completely removed in 1992. Only a few remnants of it remain in their original place, as a reminder and memorial to the once divided city.