Fall Of Berlin Wall Flashcards
(7 cards)
Who was responsible for the fall of the wall
Günter Schabowski, the party boss in East Berlin and the spokesman for the East German Communist Party politburo, had the task of announcing a change in his city’s relations with the West.
What did he do wrong
In a TV address he stated that, starting at midnight, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country’s borders into the West when the actual regulations were to take place the next day
When was this announcement
On November 9, 1989
What was the consequences of his announcement
Both East and West Germans flocked to the Berlin wall chanting “open the gate”. The guards didn’t know of this and had no order’s, and faced with 100s of thousands couldn’t shoot them. The walls was eventually destroyed by the protesters with sledgehammers and tools
What was the social importance of this
People could now be reunited with friends and relatives who they had not seen for 30 years
What was the global significance of this
The Berlin wall had been a symbol of the cold war and ideological divide in Europe between Communism and Capitalism. Its destruction became a symbol of the end of this divide and the cold war itself. Both soviets and westerners celebrated together the end of Soviet tyranny on Europ
Consequences of the fall of the Berlin wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall led to the reunification of Germany, and the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe with the other communist states breaking of from the Soviet Union after some through revolution and others through peaceful protests and elections.
This ultimately symbolised the eventual end of the Cold War, and reopened peaceful diplomacy and trade with the East
