Secret police the stars he shared suspicious activity right by the wall of the Brandenburg Gate. A starfleet officer requested information about a tall mast picked up on the images. Whatever. The suspicious mast was being arrested by an American Television broadcaster which had sent its top reporter to berlin. At the same time in the east German Ministry of the interior. A colonel of the Peoples Police was given a secret mission by his superiors. He was to write a paper intended to save the country from disaster at the last minute but the new trot out of control and change the world. And twee bundle it was an overcast november day it wasnt raining but it was dull. It helps doc. I hate november i hate this weather it drags down my mood. Im good at this will it was fortunate our embassy had a soaring pull a 3040 minute swim gave me enough energy for the rest of the day. Not intruding on. A trip and perk. Fish was a carpenter in east berlin for him the 9th of november began like any normal workday but the mood in east germany had deteriorated dramatically over the past few months. 89 was a year of tension everyone felt the tension increasing the secret code was the candle in the window we looked where the candles were and there were more and more of them that was telling us there were so many in 89 everything really came to a head. In the autumn the situation in east germany escalated rapidly monday demonstrations riots beating rampages on the part of the Security Forces the regime taught it as it tried to defend itself against its own citizens in. East berlin on the morning of the 9th of november 989 a camera team from the west set off to document the showdown in the east german capital but the journalists found a city that seemed to sleep there was no sign of change yet. This unique 40th was shot just a few hours before the biggest drama in east germanys history. At the same time in west berlin this medical student didnt yet know he would play a historic role that day. I was just preparing for the final. Nomination of my day was quite structured i got up early had breakfast and then sat down to study every now and again i listen to the radio and watch t. V. So i wouldnt entirely miss out on what was happening in the world and the. Concert for person was after that person that went. On t. V. Hed been watching the dramatic events unfolding in eastern europe. The east German Authorities were alarmed at these events somebody had to fix the situation. That somebody was gaffed lauter a senior official in the ministry of the interior known for his level headed approach. On the 1st of july 989 i was made the head of the Central Department of passports and registration was i knew there were big problems people wanted to travel to other countries i knew about id cards and passports how much specialist knowledge i had to rely on my staff it quickly became clear that it was mainly political decisions that were needed in this particular try to understand. More you know. This so large among the days agenda was travel regulations. The rights of legal. Chanted weeks hospital in east berlin. Just a few 100 meters from his office. Fish began his shift in the hospitals carpentry shop. The news of the day didnt mention a word about travel policy carrying reports only of Party Meetings even though the citizens of the country were trying to leave in droves. Her frock is going on here. As it were. A man went on holiday to hungary he crossed the wall into the west from there another person sold everything he had inherited a large bakery from his father and a house he let the state have everything so long as they let him go. So hopefully last mission. We knew that this was all my mother so im you have to remember all that had gone on before i had spent most of a year on whatever point or another fly off to the dissolution of the soviet empire for god therefore i want to germany yeah we had more promotion that wed ever had before to go back and forth to the east tom brokaw was planning a live report for the us for the afternoon of november the 9th. We had made arrangements to get a satellite feed from the Brandenburg Gate to watch those 5 for that night we had booked a satellite and i made arrangements to see good her chavous again and we have that arrange for white 5 oclock the afternoon as i remember. Like most party high ups can tell schabowski lived on the pony piro estates near berlin hed been through some difficult weeks. This one of your aunts. Was it was frightening for us i have to say of course we saw the Television Images and that was the impulse for us to bring about a decision to diffuse the situation the visas abroad so on and shelf until the communist party chief had led east germany into a rut schabowski and fellow politburo members forced him to step down. But the issue of freedom to travel was still an insoluble problem for the new leader. Is this the 1st step of the government that was created after deposing hanukah was to create a travel law with the aim of relaxing the situation dustys a. Schabowski was the only member of the party polyp euro to address the popular protests. Each worked to bring about reforms in the system. But the people didnt want to believe him anymore. Morning the western camera team had been watching the events in plans and frankly signing 2 districts in east berlin. The journalist asked people about the most important topics of the day the right to travel freely and the policies of the new leadership. They have to resign all of them theres no point they keep on talking about a loss of trust but theyve never had a trust. Something will change but not what the majority want it wont be enough we have a view of the world even though weve never been able to look at the world for ourselves. At the interior ministry for top experts including 2 she says working on the problem of the right to travel. They had to come up with ideas for the politburo the mass exodus was threatening the countrys very existence. The stasi officers presented a draft version of new travel regulations. For it. I was shocked by the suggestions. For the stand they had proposed the regulation permitting permanent departure meaning that from the 10th of november anyone would have been allowed to leave the country for good. But they still wouldnt have been allowed to leave and come back leave and just see a bit of the world or stroll through west berlin or visit their relatives. Again that meant no freedom of travel just 3 days early allow to have had to defend the governments half hearted stance in the east german media against opponents like greegor gleeson lout i became the scapegoat of the nation he didnt want that to happen again. I said this would be the final straw this would break the camels back. Night so he refused to accept the half measure. A lively discussion followed and which allowed her called for everyone to be given the freedom to travel for the whole you know the officials knew the people of east germany were still fleeing via hungary in czechoslovakia they knew things couldnt stay as they were but they couldnt agree on a solution. Although i did tell you that after a few kilometers further north was the Bornholmer Strasse a crossing point between east and west berlin one of the busiest border posts in the divided city Lieutenant Colonel howard here just started work at passport control at 8 am he recorded. All the morning homo straws or crossing point was basically the purpose of my life everything happened there my entire professional life was there i really felt i had a calling to fill a position. For a beautiful movement. On the 9th of november was a normal thursday there wasnt much travel activity around 200 west germans came in just under a 1000 from west berlin would stop counting east german citizens. In a normal day in divided berlin at least thats how it seemed and. What no one knew was that the working group was in the process of making a momentous decision on travel policy. On their own initiative lauter and the other officers changed the brief given them by the politburo an unprecedented occurrence in the east german state just as. We saw this as one of our last opportunities to stabilize the situation in east germany but we didnt want to force the people to leave the state forever they had work they had a home had a car maybe a boat on a lake they would have come back we wouldnt force them to leave forever that was our idea and for most of us saw. That idea completely contradicted the orders from above nonetheless the 4 men opted to issue the much more permissive travel regulations. We simply formulated this decision completely differently we wrote that simple trips and permanent departure were immediately allowed for everyone without the previously necessary checks and approval procedures doctors or people would have to do was to request a passport and a visa the idea was to gain time and allow a controlled opening of the borders for christmas. At the same time the west german chancellor had left the country had more to call was in poland on an official visit. We flew to warsaw on an air force plane in the morning and had the standard welcome ceremony. Then we had our 1st talks and were put up in a polish Government Guest house. Fish wasnt especially politically minded but the big question of his countrys future was on his mind. As a player travel freedom was a big issue because there were many family connections to west germany and west berlin some werent allowed to go to their parents funeral it was all very arbitrary you never knew what answer youd get it was unpredictable. But for the credit or. Not the beer the body its as if you have this feeling that was when i dictated the crucial paper to his secretary to ice then he goes rising i was dead yeah because. It read that private journeys to Foreign Countries could be applied for without preconditions printed or the 45. 00 if only in. The new travel regulations were not to be made public until the next morning that way passport to dredge a stranger in offices would have time to prepare for the onslaught of people. Thats why it was decided that none of this would be made public until 4 oclock in the morning on the 10th of november nothing would have happened before then an expose your. Lunch break in belin. West berlin medical student Benedict Ziegler my are headed to the university canteen. Fish was informing himself about the situation in the country all the news was about one topic and only the Tense Congress of the east German Communist PartyCentral Committee the highest party organ. Wanting to do something new create trust they got in crims who actually was a day of hanukkahs. That didnt give anyone hope that there would be improvement because the ideology remained nothing changed change could only come about if something old broke to make room for the new cup would you like about me a call. In the Central Committee building Top Party Officials were discussing the future of east germany as always behind closed doors. Just one person wasnt inside the partys new spokesman could touch up off. The buffet and voters tradin with immediately i was responsible for dealing with the media im choosing my words carefully because the expression guiding and instructing the media had been replaced i was in touch with the media on that day to tell them what could come up in the Central Committee or the womans bus and a movie that was at all is beyond what i also acted as their contact with the Central Committee is part most important part for me the. Shovel ski set up an International Press conference for that evening. A reporter from the west german tabloid bit brinkman came especially from hamburg. We had become i got a call from the west berlin Mayors Office someone said i should come to berlin something was happening what was. It was that i thought if i was going to be there i should sit in the front row i put my jacket over my seat and kept checking to make sure it was still live because i really wanted to sit right in front of the microphone i had no idea what was going to happen but everyone was hoping something would happen over it or off to yet. This was perceived. Only a few meters away in east Germanys Interior Ministry get half aloud as working group had completed its job of drafting a paper on travel regulations. This park it in this package was then brought to the Party Central committee its around noon and it was given to the driver who was told to hand it straight to egg on cranes that was a difficult situation that we had to assume that those who commissioned it namely the political road would read it and check it and say this wasnt what we ordered i was nervous i didnt know what would happen and whether id still have my job tomorrow or. More guns on those. After around noon the driver took the paper to the Central Committee building 1st of all to the politburo at the members were having a cigarette break they waved aloud as travel regulations through without objections the 1st hurdle had been ever come. In the early afternoon east german leader egon trends met with west german politician your highness how to talk about the future of in a german relations after the meeting kinds went back to the Central Committee was allowed as a note he altered the agenda for that so that as minister the chairman of the council of ministers has suggested a regulation which i want to read out now because it will have such an effect that i dont want to pass it without 1st consulting the Central Committee the following transitional regulations regarding trips and permanent departures will be implemented with immediate effect that it was rounded off personal trips to other countries can be applied for with out reasons such as family events or the like. I was on that sort of on shot as a Bond Commission will be granted at short notice and put with the travel permits will only be declined in exceptional cases. Viewed as my home my home was. Whatever we do we wont do it right side but this is the only solution this allows us to avoid doing everything via 3rd states which isnt good for our international reputation. No one in the room appeared to understand the momentous import of the paper they didnt realize it would allow all these german citizens to travel thats the only explanation of why the draft was passed without much discussion at the end kinds also said the information should be withheld until the following day. Given to type the attached press release regarding the transitional regulations is to be published on the 10th of november. But the one member of the Central Committee who was absent at that moment was going to schabowski. The visions that i wasnt there i wasnt out that Central Committee session because its a. Shop of ski didnt return until about half past 5 just before his press conference had been the leader when i returned to the Central Committee meeting all of these things had already taken place i sat down next to kranz on the discussion continued we spoke quietly and he pushed the note over to me he told me to take it with me to todays press conference then the smith indian with a good present. Going cleanse failed to mention an important detail to schabowski that it was to be embargoed until the following morning. I didnt know anything about the news embargoed i had no idea. And so good to schabowski went to his press conference. He has to be back at the International Press center in berlin with a live report a tradition that was started yesterday is to be continued every evening after the end of the day sessions of the Central Committee of the socialist unity party a representative of this committee will talk to east german and. Foreign journalists to answer their questions as you can see huge numbers are resembled here of them its in that 8 and under. One of the journalists present was American News anchor tom brokaw. Im pretty exhausted it was 45 oclock ive formed a monarch so i said is our satellite. Capability still there and they said yes were also getting a crate out at a particular over a high shot all that time Peter Brinkman had managed to defend his siege. Delhomme of waiting for the room was crammed full nobody knew anything nobody had the faintest idea but everyone felt something was up we had to be there for whatever was going to happen today victor. At the same time in warsaw how much code was meeting left for winter. We had to talk with will in turn during this talk he said mr chancellor the events taking place in east germany will lead to german reunification of. Those of us for lens or was convinced this would come about. As the working day near detained in east berlin the Television Journalists from the west had managed to get all the way to the governments quarter they were observing east german officialdom much were. The Peoples Police knew their job to keep everyone and everything in its place. 6 pm in east berlin. Fish and just wife anita had choir practice that night on the Program Christmas carols. We had in fact we had finished work for the day and were glad it was thursday so we could go and sing in the choir and slowly prepare songs for christmas we had to start those rehearsals in november if not in october already we thought we would receive we had weekend meetings during which we rehearsed hymns and all of the other things you sing in church we sing at the service on sundays. Who dont want us im really go to students. At 6 oclock on the dot kuntar schabowski open to the press conference. In dundee introduced himself as secretary of the Central Committee. Manner he also introduced his colleague comrade held up the most a member of the Central Committee and head of the Teachers Union on fours its nothing of actual interaction that soon im told for not a word about the travel regulations only party my language it was all waffle so it went on for half an hour it was dreadfully boring and all the other journalists felt the same thing. You. Know my isnt the best day of. Them but the fog going on i was tired it was quite a day and i would care about have writing off a drawing gardeners bureaucratic way. The tenant colonel house was just about to have supper in the neighboring canteen. A little watch of all of the television was on in the canteen but nobody was watching all this ning i saw the press conference was being broadcast and i thought id listen to what was being said in case there was any news good news could occur any day and there werent that many Party Press Conferences or. People in west berlin could also receive east German Television medical students benedictine mile was watching the live broadcast of the press conference. He then started reporting on the days count topics i wasnt really taking him seriously at 1st i just thought he sitting there saying whatever it was. Just a few minutes before the end of the press conference there was an unexpected twist to the fact that. Johnson sure did see us as voted to an Italian Journalist picardo was invited to ask a question should not going to a concert take out ricardo ehrman was standing to the left hed arrived early he couldnt get a seat and he will he was 2 meters away from me and only to me just to the right of. Feet mr schabowski you spoke of mistakes because dont you think the draft travel bill you presented a few days ago was a big mistake wished it for free to these maalik to that moment i remembered i had wanted to talk about the issue of the travel regulations for you and these are. This is what the. Decision has been made today the recommendation of the political euro has been accepted that the passage of the its permanent departure be taken from that draft and come into effect. Then he started searching amongst his papers and couldnt at 1st find a note he. Been given by a gong krentz he had this big pile of papers with him which i could see because i was sitting at the front to win as well as us called but thats the guy i reached into this pile and was looking for the note i was supposed to read out a colleague came to help me out so well. Somebody handed him a piece of paper from the polar bureau and he took out of the crisis and a writer. And i a waiter described as a New York Times as if a martian had arrived on that stage with a message because it seemed to have come from some other reality check boesky told the journalists they should have been given the statement then he read it. As a very bad guys enough and also her still trips to other countries maybe a point for without giving any family all other reason permission will be granted at short notice and are here in west berlin bennett exceeded my and his flatmate pitter were taken aback by what they were seeing on television. Before. Going to prove to us my didnt believe what i was hearing at 1st i thought it was a way of damping down the demonstrations in east germany as if the people a token gesture but i didnt know what to think of it has come to this forgive me im sure its going to hodges can be made as one of the Border Crossings between east and west germany. And all feel at this point i called out when. Just because far as i know immediately. For to adopt i was shocked immediately i leapt up and left my supper i really wanted to know what this rubbish was all about. But it was the guys who got their interest. As its true permanent departures can take place at all of the Border Crossings into west germany west berlin. Back at the east German Interior Ministry not mr i remember very clearly it was at 6 minutes to 7 the ministry of justice called to suggest the wording and i was able to convince him that our wording made more sense at 3 minutes to 7 i was still on the phone to him and hadnt realized that 6 minutes to 7 going to have presented a document to the world or the government one even taking a final decision which was. A few minutes later i left his office in the firm belief that his news about go was being maintained. That says that. I had failed to fish or get in the meantime the press conference had come to a claim. And the. None of us really knew what to do and nobody drew the real conclusion that this was it was cause for us to go along with the american and british reporters were confused they suspected the interpreters had made an error in translation. Coverage via the us he asked for the english text to be read out in case there was a problem fixed as it is a life of a game for the hospitality and what does this mean with the war be opened how would the Border Police react these were all important questions one alice guns with you 5. Seconds before all of a gun made an urgent phone call to his superior you know who. Youre watching schabowski been talking about have been found because it was a star office and a lot of the real he said to me youre calling me because of that rubbish i said yes thats exactly why im calling he said you know the orders east german citizens are only allowed to leave under the Current Conditions meaning they need a passport and a proper visa otherwise they had to be turned back. Intellectually. The east german leadership had nothing about any of this because the politburo the ministers and all the Top Party Officials at the Central Committee meeting none of them had seen schabowski press conference. At the same time in warsaw helmut kohl was also in the dark about the events in east berlin the west german chancellor was the guest at a banquet. The room was a box and then chavasse folded up the paper put it back as pocket and left the state i want out ran up stairs with my camera crew were a small room with a special prosecutor who was completely call my courtroom down our eyes you still have a piece of paper here so i do i said will read it again but he took it out put out of the glasses read it again and i said that that means citizens from east can go out of the war any way that they want to. Further forced to leave. By a. Transit. Through another country is possible for them to go through the war some point but it is possible for them to go through the border. I ran downstairs there was a course of American Newspaper correspondents who are friends of mine and i looked at them and i said its true the wall is down but a few minutes later the news programs on both east and west German Television reportage what had happened. According to Police Bureau membership both east german citizens wanting to leave their country no longer have to take the d. To a via czechoslovakia permanent departures can occur via all of the Border Crossings between east germany and west germany and west berlin. Shortly after the press conference the western camera crew were filming in a pub in east berlin people would drinking a toast to the new regulations. Do you think you can go all the. Way i dont know what to say i used to cry every day now were all happy. Its great whats just happened nobody here was expecting but. They celebrated the unexpected news with beer bubbly and rocknroll. The soviet envoy only heard about the new regulation from the television. Came as a shock. From the from cuba hawkish people we hadnt known anything about it we were watching Television News it was disappointing and we were if you like or a bit angry with us books. Me to you the tension was rising all the time. Thing the danger that someone would lose their nerve he was quite high you know been pushing. The Border Crossing point upon her mushed awesome. Oh feel good i didnt have to wait long for people to arrive after id been there for our own 20 minutes the 1st came and asked if they were allowed out. The officer asked if they had a passport and a reserve part of plane resume no they said but he said we were allowed to leave no. Opposite of what our advisor. And it was now that the explosive nature of shut off these notes became clear qualified author was sitting in the theater. Ringback ringback and sugar for days and i had theatre tickets for that evening to see ironic of folks buy goods or the incredible thing about this play which was sold out like so many was that the people couldnt laugh any more because it was such a parody of the actual situation that it was absolutely serious discussion but glanced. At. The shirt and meter catfish finished their choir practice and walked back home to plans are there. This fall. It was quiet in the streets there was no excitement most people were watching television western television this football match was on and that was a good reason to switch on the t. V. I was in towns the answer was. A west German Television station was broadcasting a match between stuttgart and buy in munich. By now the meeting in the Central Committee had come to an end. Going to shut boesky was also finishing work in his office it had been a long day the man who had announced the new travel regulation left the Central Committee building to go home to fund the gated community where the politburo members lived. And. Hundreds and its often been does are just and all but when i arrived in vans lets i saw that the windows were all dark which meant that the majority of the political row members slept through these eventful hours is that design the station. Increasing numbers of people were making their way to the Border Crossing at bonheur mushed us where they were convinced they were now allowed to travel. But Border Security hadnt received any new instructions the officer tried to tell the crowd he couldnt let them through. But the people could no longer be turned back so easily. The most ill zoom into a lot more and more people were arriving they came on foot in cars and by tram they werent aggressive at this point but they were very firm in their demands on him not to please. Me i thought it. Made another worried phone call to his superior come out seguin han asking for instructions those are 3 available through my superior told me on the phone that hed call the ministry hed get hold of either the minister or is deputy he said i could listen to the conversation. As it were to me out of use of type he wanted to show me that at this point there would be no hope or no rescue from above what a kind i told him. No one in the she does he ministry wanted to believe what he was telling them. To look at the question came back was i capable of making realistic evaluations or was i acting out of fear at that point id had enough to feel there are thousands of people out here he said listen to them yourself. When i got the receiver back i could hear the man and hung up i didnt know what to think and i couldnt understand that they didnt believe me the world as this big guy im the bomb your dog tricked. In the western half of berlin the news from east germany was spreading as well. As if you were to move and off towards 9 oclock we became curious britain i went to the Border Crossing on invalid and strasser that was closest one and it could be reached relatively easy from charlottenburg land. But at that point 140 kilometer long border around west berlin was still closed every when. People were now arriving at the Border Crossing up on her mushed in ever increasing numbers. Made up his mind he triggered the. Model i was there i wouldnt usually have been authorized to call the alarm because i wasnt senior enough but i considered it necessary to go on and on with the entire evening we had to be prepared that people would come and storm the border. Longer so i was called back by colonel seguin whole he told me this is whats going to happen all of the people provocatively showing up at the border loudly demanding to leave may lean who will fight for the policy over for the over top of all as well as a bunch while before i was to stamp the photograph in their passport which would allow them to leave but it would prevent them from coming back again until i was fired as youre starting. To do finish me off. I wasnt allowed to explain this to the people that they were only to be told about this when they tried to reenter and. Then they would be told they were not allowed back in and i was in the community because in other words it was to be a journey with no return. To the conflict zone to sophisticate. Its just 3 months since india decided that it all has to change in kashmir my guess is we here in the uk is jane fonda National Vicepresident and one of the chief spokesman for the ruling c. J. Potus the answer to charges of white french Human Rights Violations in kashmir. Its going to. Do no good today no. Return you know the banks. And so watch the language of the bank money. Speaking the truth global news that matters d. W. Me for mines. Sushi after the fall of the. No summer night w. This is g w news a life from berlin tears cheers and dancing across south africa as the countrys rugby team is found a new world champions the springboks foot on a dominant display out classing england to capture their 3rd world cup title also coming up. Hong kong police fired tear gas and deployed Water Cannons to disperse an unsanctioned protest demonstrators again take to the streets in what they say is an emergency call to protect hong kongs autonomy our correspondents