Will look back but historic night 30 years ago the events that led to the fall of the. Im from welcome to the Program Germany is marking the 30th anniversary of the form of the pearl the wall taking place across the capital with the main event at the Brandenburg Gate on november the night 989 communist east germany lifting travel restrictions and reopen the border checkpoints people to cross freely to the west after decades of repression before the wall was a result of 20 seems a peaceful revolution that led to german reunification with any. Moves. On to the. Theres chief Political Editor i became a vet at the Brandenburg Gate welcome michela whats going. Well well into the tech now after so voted down at the Brandenburg Gate the official celebration is over but now the party is quite seriously all off initially we thought the songs from the east german song royces some of the fish which some people fled from the east across congo. Did they say it is to meet a lot a lot of these summonses many questions would have cut off those so also a lot of people on stage sharing their own personal stories now what you can hear behind me i just say is more for the younger for the next generation. What did we hear from the National Leaders who attempted. This we heard from the german president trungpa just stand by and was that the official celebrations early on we heard from michelle. The maid of. Mine did 6 then is that those who enjoy freedom also responsible for the freedom of the future and this is listen to what the german president steinmeyer said there was a lot to read between the lines. Today isnt just about the old pictures the highs of days gone by. Then we can feel that today is for us. Todays about you know our country was a day when we remember the brave people back then with gratitude and maybe even tears in our eyes meet dunker cards and we cant just sit by and watch as that for which they fought is forgotten. Like fire the cover to go can be dust but we cant allow people to be excluded and attacked might do from which to learn this meant democracy to be disrespected and our solidarity destroyed just examine hard and cant allow that to happen. Via next to nothing thank you and quite clearly he meant was the far right if the posse didnt leave which has an extreme right wing this is also looking at looked at very closely by the all sorts to see whether its in conformity with the constitution its something thats known across europe as the populist wrong i switched to take the in some eastern state has kind of real potential above 8 the 20 percent mark in these no election so basic the president saying. Since the constant now its happened that the freedom is taken away from individuals the freedom that we see here 30 years ago could be taken away once again so well into the techno phase of proceedings michela what ill say shadows for size. Well actually were at the end of the schedule you were into one not about was a serious parsing and i can say that them to take the amongst those chances are pretty much sat through the speeches you simply cannot remember one q 4 and. At the time 30 years ago at this moment of uncertainty in german history theyre out tossing right now and so. We had some young cion say just 16 year old saying yes it was a peaceful revolution 30 years ago but the piece of evolution now has to be tackling Climate Change so this new thinking by a new generation and here everybody spazzing together i know i just put out a final historic note just you know a bit of the Brandenburg Gate why the took a sort of significance. To the bonobo gate behind me that was where the wool was the front of book was on the east german side. Thats where the nato law and also facts really confronting the show that basically it was the frontline of the cold war that ended the decades ago and of course through that history has been transformed into a symbol that oberry is condit been seen the video become a symbol of freedom that is seen as such not just here in germany but actually much further that the energy from his go at a cemetery about to show that its a problem kate thank you. Were going to follow a more somber memorial that took place to both ends but now im struck one of the few places in the city where parts of the walla still standing. And other european leaders took part in a special ceremony to remember those who died on the east germanys shoot to kill orders against anyone trying to flee to the west. Ceremonies in the heart of berlin commemorate the 30th anniversary of whats called the peaceful revolution. Today this section of the wall is a memorial site but 3 decades ago it separated east and west germany and this symbolic location is where the official memorial celebrations are taking place. The iron curtain is now history thats what these young people say they are from the socalled visit rod countries poland the Czech Republic slovakia and hungary their message 30 years after the fall of the wall europe stands united and in his speech german president funk steinmeyer emphasized the role of east European Countries before the fall of the wall the openly demonstrated for more freedom. Or noted moot or not in fire its been born without the courage and desire for freedom that motivated the poles hungary ends czechs and slovaks the peaceful revolutions in Eastern Europe and german reunification would not have been possible. Guns on its way this place and this day remind us of a great historical achievement. And they remind us that today we europeans are united in joy. So and so im going to find the chapel of reconciliation was built on the former death strip where the east German Government demolished a church 4 years before the wall fell this chapel hosts regular ceremonies in honor of those who died during germanys years of division. These are in the on you mentioned i pay tribute to those who were killed near the wall because they sought freedom and i pay tribute to the 75000 people who were imprisoned because they attempted to flee east germany and i did november the 9th of november is a day of destiny a day of horrible but also joyful moments in history that reminds us that hate racism and antisemitism must be fought and chosen and given to it mr. Then a moment of solemn thoughts for the victims of a divided germany. Was part of our special coverage of this is talk out of our reporters happen explaining some of the places in bad then where history was made alphas was one of those locations a little earlier. Out of more than schloss in the center of the lane and because in this building behind me all the believe that stood there before the political events of the 9th of november culminated in a very famous press conference youre in that day but the political scene in east berlin was very basic busy there was frantic activity there was a full of pro meeting there was a Central Committee meeting where basically it was decided to lift travel restrictions on the next day the 10th of november and then a man called going to schabowski who was have been the government spokesman only for 3 days was told to go and brief the International Press which he then did and there were a couple of misunderstandings there in that press conference and i think we can have a listen to that right now. The east German Government was under growing pressure on the evening of november 9th 1909 spokesman. Called a press conference. In a bid to quell the growing demonstrations communist authorities had agreed to allow east germans to travel without restrictions to the west. He was asked by reporters when this would take effect he looked at his notes. Just as far as im aware its Effective Immediately because. The east german regime was caught off guard across the border in west berlin camera teams waited for something to happen the announcement set off a tidal wave of east german citizens who wanted to enter the west hours later history was made as people began crossing the border freely and the berlin wall began to fall. And with me now i. With me now here in the center of dean orphan who at the time was a rookie reporter for 29 years working for west german radio on is only a 2nd assignment to east berlin and he went to this now Infamous Press conference. Tell me was there anything did you know what to expect not exactly but the town was filled with rumors with experts and tension and something had to happen. To the regulations are struggling and they had to change those regulation this evening next day but attest to happen now the pressure on the government was intense was it yeah because the g. D. R. Was bleeding out 2 deaths. Several sauza 10000 of people leaving a week for a week of the g. D. P. And these were the young people the young families the best of them when you went into this press conference was it immediately palpable that we would be a historic event. Eat nuts yes knowing that i went in and my 1st impression was completely annoying because mr schabowski swagged all the time about reforming socialism and how to do it and how to make a better place but that was not the question the people were thinking about the people were thinking about freedom and traveling and 57 of the 60 minutes the press a press Conference Take place he talks about reforming socialism and then you missed the main part a nightmare for recording yeah complete nightmare and historic fail for me because i feel. Minutes before the press conference and i have to go upstairs where a radio studio was to make a life broadcast to my Radio Station in western berlin so i prepared a little bit 5 minutes and this where the 5 minutes i missed the historical sentence of mr schabowski so you could have been the 1st person to tell the world that the wall is open but you couldnt after you realized what did you do then yeah i went inside to several boss and pencil back in some berlin and spoke with the people they had they didnt know anything and i brought the news to them and this was a very intense speaking and interns evening and then we went together to the border to the checkpoints where the pressure on the border was drawing growing in every minute but nothing was happening at that very moment thank you very much for sharing your memories of a very sad and report. Back to the studio. Alphas reporting youre watching special coverage of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the burden of war so weve seen some of todays a commemorative events here in the city lets now go back to that historic night 30 years ago. I. It was a night that changed the world 30 years ago history was turned on its head the berlin wall began to fall. I. The wall had stood for nearly 3 decades slicing through berlin it was a deadly symbol of the cold war between east and western europe between the u. S. And the soviet union. Demonstrations in east germany had put pressure on an already unstable regime the communist government then decided to east travel restrictions to the West District of moma this is the socalled communist official cause of god mistakenly told reporters that the new regulations were Effective Immediately within hours joyful chaos broke out at east berlin spota crossings it was the beginning of a new era. It was all going off 30 years ago d. W. Political correspondent peter craven was here and while he was in west berlin 30 years ago witnessing history where were you that night i wasnt in west berlin i was in east berlin looking at it when it came to the crunch. Oh i was with a group of people who i had sort of joined up with coming from the east there in lies a story would have enough time to that and we were heading for the berlin wall to try to become among the 1st people to actually get up on the berlin wall at the Brandenburg Gate from the eastern side and one of the guys in this group that id sort of found myself among said charge and so we all started running towards the wall and there were Border Police with kalashnikovs in front of her on the breast as it were and we drew we challenged through their ranks and then climbed up onto the wall so you think this is an indication of how dangerous it could get in there i mean how you already heard ben that it was open. In my instance with a couple of friends id come from the west where i write you so rightly said that that was where i was based on the time id come to the inn for leading staff there are Border Crossing into the each still enjoined up on the other side with these people from these 2 were charging them back to the west so theres this is this big mobs on the streets knowing that something was was was happening so you know you mentioned the Border Guards with their kalashnikov so not scared at all youd have been well in your early twentys and you know i was in my i was in my thirtys and i was with the woman who was to become my wife and we were we were there were that moment when the guy said charge and we started running towards the wall i can remember turning and looking to my partner and thinking this is the right thing to be doing but it could come up one heck of a price i mean there was a real sense of this is on and i think its because there had been demonstrations calling for reform and what we get you know the impression that the actual announcement took everyone by surprise they did and that was what was so amazing i mean again i had contacts in east berlin i had contacts in east germany and i knew people in west berlin who were really in the know and you would have these endless conversation who are saying the wall is going to come down isnt it yes wed say and then the next question would always be will is it going to happen in my lifetime and youd say. Maybe but probably not probably our economy to win this argument and itll be there in 50 years time or 200 years time is that thats what he said the communist leader and life in the years so you were moving between east and west how did life in east and west berlin differ before the war came down differ differ there for i think the similarities were actually quite interesting that each country each city east berlin and west berlin was a was a shot from for its system its ideology there was capitalism in the west berlin being shown off in the in the windows of the big boutiques in west berlin in east germany that was the show of city for. Instrument communism truth be told both cities were really rather dingy but in a fascinating kind of way i mean what it helped helped everybody to make some good music and thats a good thing but today the united berlin is a better place to stay with us peter because once the wall opened then as wasted no time tearing it down but it left a scar that took decades to heal in our next report were going to meet an east berlin photographer who risked documenting the war from his side of the city. The center of berlin skyscrapers and tourists filled the streets but this was the death strip until in 1909 it was part of the heavily guarded wall complex which separated west and east 150 kilometers long and then places up to 150 meters wide as though no berlin or was allowed to enter get danica grew up in east berlin the wall stood right next to his home this is where he started taking photos. When i was really low predictive i took my resume loans and photographed it from far away. Because it was strictly forbidden to take pictures of the border area thats going to roots of one of. His pictures show berlins radical transformation this wasteland has become germanys government quarter. The city may change but some things stay the same people need to love and to eat. I used to love to come back here with my camera because there was lots of life here lots of images to be captured and one thing that hasnt changed is conor because its still here today. Famous for its color the worst cannot get has been selling sausages for 90 he is now and still serves the same menu the kleins today and different though. We have this used to be a working class neighborhood there were factories everywhere everyone dropped in here after their shift or on their way to work the book ate for most east berlin and this was the end of the world today the city has been reunited but forget donegal somethin still remains. I mean business or death if i still have the wall in my head. And when i travel across a Public Transportation in my mind im traveling from east to west or from west to east thats just stayed in my head than a. Professional and thats why im envious of the young people who do not have the same side on the. Foot those who born after the war what remains is just part of history. So lets bring it up to date and with correspondent peter craven whos still with us supreme peter lets talk about berlin today in fact little by germany today how are the former east and west now getting along. Well if you begin here in berlin people got on pretty well i would say its its viewed as entirely as you were as you will know it in future is entirely uncle to talk about east and west really berlin has become sort of an International Zone if you so well its quite a sort of a good news story around german reunification there are other good news stories i mean a city that comes to mind is leipsic for example where things its a very very buoyant forward looking city but still theres massive resentment among people in eastern germany does this figure of 57 people percent of east germans saying recently that they view themselves as 2nd class citizens why so there are so many good reasons i found a very interesting example the other day that might explain this for our viewers. Of all the Colleges Universities and centers of Higher Education in eastern germany of which there are dozens maybe i think 80 plus how many have got directors who are from the east were talking about east german colleges of Higher Education the answer is 000 that cannot be right so youre still active to discrimination against each germans in a Glass Ceiling and then for the you know there are lots of very ambitious young former east germans people from lisa in germany who have got great skills one of you know made Great Strides in recent years but nobody from eastern germany or very very few people its too categorical so nobody know very very few people are getting to the top either in whats germany or east germany especially with the example is always going to be the chancellor who i suppose people are going to look at her and say well what what shes been in power for for all the years it was a decade and a half how does what what does what have her the governments done about addressing those divisions between east and west 20 extremely large amounts of money and i mean the metaphor thats often used is that theyve spent it on the facades and the really it or at least the very interest. Aspect of the story is not what is you know the pretty facades of the east in germantown cities and villages but what is going on behind the facades and as i say there is still an awful lot of resentment when you talk soon simple not just people whove been left behind successful eastern germans theyve seen the pain for example of their parents or grandparents in the 1990 s. When 75 percent of people lost their jobs they find it unbearable theyre angry. A good thing is that i think quite a lot of western germans and western german politicians occurrence of the error of their ways and realizing that we perhaps focus not perhaps we did we focus too much on the markets and too little on the people so the country is united but still work to be done peter craven Political Correspondent thank you so much for that. For 30 years after the birth and war foul where can you still see it for the longest remaining stretch stands along the east side of the citys river spray when the border opened artists from around the world are transformed a section of the wall into a giant outdoor canvas its now world famous and one of the citys biggest tourist attractions. The east gallery was started in february 990. 00 artists were invited to paint an original portion of the berlin wall back then the initiative was designed to help east german artists who would suddenly been left without an income but in those exciting days of the former communist state opening up artists came from all over the world. When berlin was divided it was common for people on the western side to draw graffiti on the wall but on the eastern side people approached at their peril the wall became more and more fortified with heavily armed guards tripwires searchlights and lookout towers Border Guards were ordered to shoot to kill anyone who tried to escape and more than 100 people were killed trying to cross the border in berlin alone just a few months after those instruments of oppression were dismantled the east side gallery turned the symbol of terror into a canvas for Free Expression some of the artworks have become famous around the world because the gallery is exposed to the weather the images of her to be restored or even repainted several times today the east side gallery is a popular tourist destination. Im next here on the day w. The date with a longer look at todays act in france dont forget you can get to all the latest news and information around the clock on our website at state w dot com ive been deaf. Much. More bored. To. Tears after the fall of the berlin wall on t. W. It was the night everything changed. The night every day people may be historic. The night that joe biden country came together. It was the night of the fall of the wall. Next to w. I think everything challenging 1st off i think a muslim. School much different culture between here and there challenging for if. Some the 7 year was worth it for me to come to germany. Got my license to work as a swimming instructor here and now and teach children other dogs was one of the toughest decision. Whats your story take part sherritt on info migrants dot net. Syrian born american visits a local bar in berlin. He lives just opposite with a father who was a member of the hitler youth as a child. Some residents are suspicious of refugees in the neighborhood. Of americans curious about the bars regulars to cross the road worlds apart. Starting november 11th on d w. One. Up it was the night when the seemingly inconceivable became reality the fall of the berlin wall 25 years later these events were recreated on a film set of Bornholmer Strasse including the emotions that overcame many east german citizens as