Wall torn down

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Two years after President Reagan made his visit to the Berlin Wall, that wall came down.

A very surprising announcement was made that travel was going to be opened up, and people were shocked. A journalist living in Germany at that time describes it:

"German media outlets broadcast news that East Germans could travel freely, so thousands showed up at the wall, waiting at the gates and pressing forward as their numbers grew. The guards had no idea what to do, because no formal announcement had been made as to the wall's status. Finally, more to prevent a riot than for any other reason, the crowds were allowed to surge forward. They crossed the wall and freely entered West Berlin for the first time in almost 30 years.

"What followed was a two-day long party in the streets of Berlin. People began taking hammers and chisels to the wall, tearing it down piece by piece (and saving many pieces for souvenirs -- you can still buy them in German gift shops). Thousands of hammer blows finally destroyed the wall. Every East German who entered the West was given a "welcome gift" of 100 marks -- about 800,000 of them crossed over on the first day."