EAST GERMANY OPENS TRAVEL TO WEST BERLIN
East Berlin, Germany (JFK+50) On November 9, 1989, East German officials opened the Berlin Wall allowing travel from East Berlin to West Berlin for the first time since the wall was erected in 1961.
ARD, the German Public Service Broadcasting Network, announced that evening...
"This 9 November is a historic day. Starting immediately, borders are open to everyone. The gates in the wall stand open wide."
JFK+50 NOTE
Today, little remains of the Berlin Wall, only sections stretching 260 feet. Originally, a barbed wire fence was installed (Aug 13 1961) which was soon expanded to cement walls & guard towers.
Soviet premier Khrushchev had demanded the West to evacuate West Berlin within six months precipitating the Berlin Crisis 1958-1961. West Berlin was completely surrounded by East (Communist) Germany. The crisis was resolved by the wall. As JFK remarked privately, "a wall is a hell of a lot better than a (nuclear) war."
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SOURCES
"November 9, 1989," This Day In History, www.history.com/
"The Berlin Crisis, 1958-1961," Office of the Historian, www.history.state.gov/
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