The German capital marked the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with colorful installations and concerts that drew tens of thousands of people to the city center. The main attraction for locals and numerous tourists was a 4km long makeshift wall made of 5,000 posters that were installed along the border that once divided the city.
The action is being held under the motto “We highly value freedom”. Posters were created by children and adults in schools, church parishes and various community organizations. Participants were asked to express what concepts such as democracy and freedom mean to them today and which values are particularly important. On the posters you can see drawings and inscriptions with the following content: “The wall must protect, not divide“, “Freedom of expression without hatred“, “Freedom is not given away”. and others.
tonight there is a special concert. About 700 musicians, both professional and amateur, perform in sync the so-called “soundtracks of freedom” on stages located in five different locations. In particular, the compositions S.O.S. will be performed. East German rock band Silly, Heroes by David Bowie, Freiheit by Westernhagen. Lyrics will be displayed on huge screens so everyone can sing along with the artists.
The Berlin Wall became one of the symbols of the Cold War. Its construction began in 1961. on the initiative of GDR leader Walter Ulbricht against the backdrop of a mass outflow of labor and young specialists to West Germany. In the 28 years of the wall's existence, at least 136 people died trying to cross to West Berlin, and over 5,000 managed to cross it. After Hungary opened its borders in 1989. against the background of perestroika in the Soviet Union, 15,000 East Germans fled the GDR through the territory of its neighbors in 3 days, and thus the Berlin Wall essentially lost its meaning.
On November 9, 1989 Günter Schabowski, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist United Party of Germany, announced at a press conference new rules ensuring freedom of movement for citizens of the GDR. Hundreds of thousands of East Germans rushed jubilantly to the checkpoints on the border between West and East Berlin. The first barrier was opened the same day at 22:30 local time.
On Saturday, Germany remembers another, one of the worst pages in its history - the Jewish pogroms of 1938, which received the name "Kristallnacht" in history. It is considered the beginning of the systematic physical extermination of the Jewish population. On the night of November 10, 1938 the National Socialists destroyed most of the synagogues then existing in Germany, and thousands of Jewish institutions and shops were ransacked. The streets were covered with shards of glass from broken shop windows and windows, which is why the pogroms got the name “Kristallnacht“. According to some historians' estimates, more than 1.3 thousand people died, more than 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps.