The Fall of the Berlin Wall – Rare and Unseen Footage (1989)

On 9 November 1989, East German leaders announced a loosening of travel restrictions between East and West Germany following months of mass protests across the country. Communist Party spokesperson Günter Schabowski held a press conference to announce the new measures, in which he was asked by a journalist when the changes would take effect. Having missed part of the briefing earlier in the day, Schabowski replied: “Das tritt nach meiner Kenntnis... ist das sofort... unverzüglich” ("As far as I know... effective immediately, without delay"). East and West Berliners erupted in jubilation, and spontaneous demonstrations and celebrations saw thousands mount the wall that had divided the city for decades. East Berliners began pouring into West Berlin while civilians set about destroying the wall. Mixing newly-resurfaced and previously unseen footage, this ITN Archive documentary tells the story of the first days of the fall of the Berlin Wall – known in Germany as der Mauerfall.

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[jonnytootall]

I was in the British Army at the time in west Germany, it was all over the news and the feeling of optimism was sweeping through not only the German people but also all of the NATO forces stationed there. I’m so glad that I was in Germany when the wall fell, I doubt I will ever live through such an optimistic time again.

[PaulNurse]

An incredible piece of archive footage. Thank you for uploading this without voice over or ads.

[toml.]

I visited Berlin in December of 1990, and had full access to all locations. The wall was gone and I very quickly walked thru the Brandenburg Gate. It was a great experience!!!

[aroundtheworld]

Thanks for sharing this great historic archiving material. I will never forget this night as a Berliner and be happy to remember on this moment and the great feelings, that we are united.

[Ekatjam]

The Stasi agents in the crowds were probably saying to themselves... This sure is going to be a lot of paperwork and perhaps I should be thinking about my next job.

[thefalloutsteakmoritz]

As a German this is an event every one of my relatives talks about with great awe and joy, but getting to see it from so many small clips and perspectives for myself makes me understand that awe and that happiness so much more

[TimeTechnology]

Thank you for uploading this, along with the explanations in between!

[charlesswitzer]

Great way to end an unforgettable decade.

[kixxxo]

1:05 the joy in this guys face - just WOW !

[kirylkrauchuk]

It's hard to believe it was so recently

[mariekatherine]

You know you’re old when you have a clear memory of watching this on TV, as an adult!

[xoxide]

That moment when we heard and realized and saw this wall coming down .. That moment in history was a high point for the world.. for everyone who beleived that the future was going to be brighter and better.

We have gone through so much. As a teen when this was happning i was so happy but now looking back as an adult

as someone whom looks at all our events currently in the last 20 years, i think

Where did we go wrong. We should be better off today than we were.

[mikethespike]

A lot of footage here that I have never seen before and I have seen quite a bit. I was there when it all happened, stood on the wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate, got drenched with that East German hosepipe, drank Champagne with the others, nearly fell off the wall, didn't sleep for 3 days, watched as that first wall section was pulled down by us before the West-Berlin police came and shooed everyone away, nearly fell of the wall once. What a few days that was!
I think everyone knew this was coming, it was in the air, was only a matter of time, all we had to do is wait for it to happen.
Thanks for posting, a lot of memories have come back again, a lot of questions too. Where are all these people now? What has become of them? Are they all still happy it happened?

[Tarek_ElMaddah]

I was 9 years old watching this in the news with my parents. 🇪🇬

[Bulletguy]

Judging from appearance many East German border guards were undoubtedly born after the wall went up. I remember talking to a young East German who was just 19 the time the wall fell and he told me family holidays were always in Hungary where as teenagers they were known as the "poor" Germans. He'd always longed for a pair of Levi i'd taken for granted through my teenage years and could buy any time!

[christianschuster]

The absolute very best footage without any comment just the atmosphere - this ist pure gold!

[mathisnotforthefaintofheart]

In the beginning, Wester Germans were very open and friendly to the East Germans...but in early 90's that began to cool off considerably...

[Mare]

I love how at 6:42 and 6:49 there are people slowly, carefully chipping away at the wall (one of them has a chisel!) and then at 6:59 the camera pans over to the guy who is just whacking the wall as hard as he can with a sledgehammer. Working toward the same goal, in very different ways!!

[jurgenhabicht]

My father has a piece of the broken wall

[Clan-Scotland]

My late uncle was there to photograph the day all the way from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿