The mistake that toppled the Berlin Wall

One of the Cold War's biggest moments began at a routine press conference.

The fall of the Berlin Wall has a lot of memorable moments: US President Ronald Reagan’s declaration to “tear down this wall”; David Hasselhoff singing at the Brandenburg Gate; and Berliners wielding pickaxes and hammers, tearing apart the visible symbol of a divided Europe.

But a less spectacular moment actually triggered the crumbling of the wall. It happened at a routine press conference on November 9th, 1989, when East German spokesperson Günter Schabowski was handed an announcement about relaxed travel regulations. In his lack of preparation, he mistakenly insinuated that the checkpoints in the Berlin Wall — which up until then were guarded by soldiers with orders to shoot anyone trying to cross — were now open (das sofort, unverzüglich). They weren’t, but that announcement was all East Berliners needed to storm the wall and demand they be allowed to cross into West Berlin. After that, the wall became obsolete, and soon fell.

[AlbertoNeurohr]

“We dont make mistakes, just happy little accidents” - Bob Ross

[oliveranscombe]

the guy who asked “when does this go into effect” literally. Quite literally unified Germany

[phx]

I feel so happy for that guy who was like “I’m in West Berlin!

[carteriffic]

“As far is I know, it’s effective immediately. Without delay.”
Ten words broke the wall.

[Mushroomlau]

If the reporter didn't ask the question, '' when does it take effect? '' history as we know it would have been different. They should thank that reporter for asking that question.

[toriierriffic]

Is this the orginal "Well they cant stop us all"?

[randomcon]

There’s a graffiti on the remains of the Berlin Wall that reads:

“Many small people in many small places do many small things can alter the face of the world”

Never a truer word written

[antonmarc]

For a lot of german people, myself included, this is the most emotional moment of the post-war era. Seeing Berliners reunited gives me goosebumps every time. Also, the West German parliament was in session during all of this. A speaker broke the news in the parliament, all the MPs came to the chamber and sung the national anthem. Germany was reunited in our hearts.

[Vincent-btqy]

As a german who wasn't born when the wall came down I still get goosebumps when I hear Schabowski say his famous words. Without that I probably wouldn't have been born. My dad is from east Germany and my mother from the west

[xFF]

"Immediately. Without delay" is kind of a meme here among those with an interest in politics/history. Good on Vox for putting a spotlight on Schabowski!

[macestewart]

What is incredible to me is the fact that the moment they had "*permission*" to cross, everyone arrived and crossed the wall, even though the wall wasn't open. So many people showed up that the guards couldn't do anything. Imagine if that many people had decided at one point they had permission and just arrived. Many would have been shot, probably, but what if enough people showed up peacefully, just with the conviction that they were crossing, no matter what? Wouldn't have been easy, but it says a lot about human psychology and human sociology.

[NETIERRAS]

My father was a student in West Berlin during that time, after the announcement he and his friends rushed to the border in order to help tear down the wall. He still has some chunks from the wall in his possession.
I was born after the reunification and as a child they were just some concrete chunks to me, but as I got older I started to understand the significance of those pieces of concrete. I can’t describe how proud I am to have him as my father.

[tkgsg]

By mistake. Guess that's how the world changes.

[Chosever]

My father was there, he worked on West Berlin and said that everyone called off after the news and went to tear the wall down and welcome the GDR Germans in. He said what most Germans agree about that day was: "That night, Germans never cried more, never laughed more and never drank more beer!"

[speccogecko]

I remember learning about this earlier this year from my Cold War text book. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it because it was such a monumental mistake which truly brought about great change. Also largely because it’s evidence to discredit Reagan as having any influence on the fall of the Berlin Wall.

[bishhsasspusi]

To all who missed the key component here and thought, he just announced early it would be the same the next day and shouldnt be dramatic, thats not the case at all.
If it was announced properly, the situation in Berlin would be like in the game "Papers, Please" where you show passport to enter and there is still a wall dividing the people, but due to a misunderstanding of mr. schabowski and the miracle follow up question by the reporter, Berlin was reunified once again.

[fernvalemusic]

the joy coming from the people after they crossed is amazing. it almost made me cry.

[RuthCuadrado]

That Raegan statement is only a thing in the USA. Nobody in Europe remembers that.

[HaunaniPao]

I remember this. I was in Germany for the first anniversary and we didn't know how to celebrate. It was amazing to witness such positive change that affected many people on both sides of the border.

[gareonconley]

2:52 this scene/photo is actually a very important part in german history as this gdr soldier is the last person to "freely" cross the border