Germany remembers the fall of the Berlin Wall

09/11/09 21:54 CET

world news

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Germany has marked the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall with mass celebrations.

Thousands turned out to see one of the star attractions, the toppling of some 1000 dominoes. Former Polish president and solidarity leader Lech Walesa, had the honour of pushing the first, representing the effect that swept eastern Europe following the Wall’s Fall. The dominoes stretched some one and a half kilometres over the former route of the capital’s hated barrier. Earlier German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the former leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev made a symbolic crossing over the Bose bridge, the first border point opened on November 9. Addressing the crowd Merkel said: ‘‘It was the result of a long history of oppression and the struggle against that oppression. In Germany we were not the first but we took part in the Fall of the Cold War. The festivities reached a climax with a massive fireworks display in the heart of the German capital, lighting up the Berlin night sky.More about: 1989-2009, Berlin Wall, Germany

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