NFT Overview

November 9, 1989: East German border guards opened checkpoints along the Berlin Wall, allowing people to cross into West Berlin for the first time in 28 years.

The Berlin Wall, built in 1961, became the physical embodiment of the human division and ideological struggle in post World War II Germany. The country was split in two - the stilted and restrictive Soviet-allied East Germany on one side, the fast-growing, open West Germany on the other. Built to stop the flood of defections from east to west, the Berlin Wall separated families and disrupted daily life for millions. While it stood, only about 5,000 people successfully defected, with at least 171 killed trying and many more caught and punished.

By 1989, though, the tight restrictions that categorized Communism in East Germany and the Soviet Union were beginning to wane.

Ultimately, the fall of the Berlin Wall was set in motion by a bureaucratic mix-up. During a press conference, Guenter Schabowski, a top East German spokesman inexperienced with taking live questions, mischaracterized a new law, saying that it immediately allowed emigration through the border crossings at the wall. The actual law, meant to simply define a new process by which East Germans could apply for emigration, was embargoed until the next day, allowing Schabowski's interpretation to spread quickly.

Within hours, thousands of people arrived at the border crossings demanding to cross. The confused and overwhelmed border guards began letting some people through before eventually opening the gates completely. West Berliners met their long-separated compatriots with flowers and champagne while some began to demolish parts of the wall with various tools. More than 2 million people crossed that weekend to celebrate together.

The moment of unity marked the beginning of a new era for Berlin. In the weeks and months that followed, travel restrictions continued to ease and, ultimately, the official decommission of the wall was announced. The Cold War officially ended at the Malta Summit just three weeks later, and within a year, Germany was officially reunified as one country.

The pioneering spirit and proud independence that brought down the wall have endured as part of Berlin's artistic and cultural identity ever since.

Artwork: Brett Ferdock, Mark Amadio, and Patrick Gallagher / CNN