Fall of The Berlin Wall

Question 1

What caused the fall?

Answer 1

✅ Gorbachev’s reforms
• His policies of Glasnost and Perestroika gave people more freedom and encouraged reform in Eastern Europe.

✅ End of the Brezhnev Doctrine
• Gorbachev made it clear he wouldn’t use force to control Eastern Bloc countries anymore.
• This encouraged protests and reforms across Eastern Europe.

✅ Mass protests in East Germany
• In 1989, thousands of East Germans began demanding reform and freedom to travel.
• Many fled through Hungary and Czechoslovakia, where borders had opened.

✅ Mistake by East German government
• On 9 November 1989, an East German official mistakenly announced that citizens could cross the border “immediately.”
• Huge crowds gathered, and border guards opened the gates without violence.

Question 2

Why was it important?

Answer 2

✅ Symbolic end of the Cold War
• The Wall had symbolised division; its fall represented the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

✅ Led to German reunification
• In October 1990, East and West Germany were officially reunited as one country.

✅ Triggered collapse of the USSR
• Showed that Soviet control over Eastern Europe had failed — many other communist governments fell soon after.