Deseret News archives: Travel begins in Germany after Berlin Wall falls

A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.

On Nov. 9, 1989, communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West for the first time in decades.

The news was heralded around the world.

Here is an Associated Press report on the event:

“EDITOR’S NOTE — The Berlin Wall came down Nov. 9, 1989, heralding not just the reunification of East and West Berlin, and East and West Germany, but the eventual fall of the USSR and the Iron Curtain.

“The wall had carved an absurd, brutal path through Berlin’s heart and the hearts of so many of its people. Seeming as permanent as death, it separated East Germans from the supposed ideological contamination of the West and stemmed the tide of people fleeing the German Democratic Republic of East Germany. Instead the wall proved to have the transience of a wound — one that would leave a scar, one that caused pain, but one that would, over time, heal.

“Between the time it was erected in 1961 and its fall in 1989, at least 136 people died at the Berlin Wall, according to the reunified city’s Senate Chancellery. But after Nov. 9, East Germans could not only attempt to cross it, they could climb on top of it, attack it with hammer and chisel, or dance on top of it with their West German brethren.

“The Wall’s demise was preceded by weeks of protests. Hundreds of thousands of East Germans had taken to the streets, demanding free elections, the right to travel without restrictions, and other democratic reforms. Protesters in the eastern city of Leipzig, the site of some of the largest protests, shouted, ‘The Wall must go!’”

AP newsman Nesha Starcevic wrote these words following a flash bulletin: “East Germany began tearing down the Berlin Wall on Friday.”

“Communist East Germany on Friday permanently lifted travel restrictions on its citizens, and workers began punching a hole in the Berlin Wall that for 28 years separated families and divided East and West.

“All day Friday, more than 100,000 jubilant East Germans climbed over and rushed through borders for the first time in three decades and amiably chatted with stony-faced guards who once had orders to shoot those trying to escape.

“On Friday night, West Berlin police said East German workers had begun punching a hole through the wall at Bernauer Strasse for a new checkpoint in the Wedding section of Berlin. ‘The wall is being punched through there,’ said a police spokesman, who asked not to identified.

“Arriving in private cars, motorcycles, taxi, or by foot, many East Germans got their first taste of the West. Most travelers apparently planned to return home.

“East German roads were swamped with cars heading for the West German border. But West German border officials said only about one-tenth of the newcomers planned to stay. So far this year, more than 200,000 East German refugees have gone West.

“In Berlin, many East Germans just wanted to shop or see the sights. A group of East German workers took turns visiting West Berlin.

“East German border guards abandoned their usually stern demeanor and chatted with throngs of their countrymen filing through border control points.”

Here are some additional stories from Deseret News archives about the Berlin Wall and its demise:

“Thousands remember 1989 fall of Berlin Wall”

“A look at the 1989 Associated Press report from when the Berlin Wall crumbled”

“Fall of the Berlin Wall: Why it still matters today”

“Germany celebrates memory of Berlin Wall falling”

“In our opinion: The collapse of the Berlin Wall brings its own set of obligations for Americans”

“Guest opinion: America doesn’t behave as if it remembers the Berlin Wall”

“This week in history: The fall of the Berlin Wall”

“Opinion: Challenges remain 30 years after German reunification, but we’re better for it”