Today 20 years ago, the last hours of the Berlin Wall are precisely known. At 6.53 p.m. Günter Schabowski, a spokesman of the eastern german Politbüro was asked when new regulations for the private travel of eastern German citizens will take effect. As he was not fully updated that these new regulations were due to November 10th, 1989 he just answered

As far as I know effective immediately, without delay.
(german: “Das tritt nach meiner Kenntnis […] ist das sofort, unverzüglich.“)

That answer was like a big bang for the citizens of eastern Berlin. Thousands went to the Bornholmer Straße demanding to open the wall immediately. At 10.30 p.m. the eastern german border patrol man Harald Jäger surrendered and opened the Berlin Wall on the Bornholmer Straße with the last words

We’re flooding now.
(german: “Wir fluten jetzt”)

Now 20 years later, not many relicts from that time have remained. Today at 7 p.m. a thousand dominos as a symbol for the former Berlin Wall are gonna be knocked over in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

To get a better insight how the world looked liked in the 1980s here in Berlin, the Deutsche Welle made an amazing documentary about how the inner German Wall was secured.

» Wikipedia: History of the Berlin Wall…
» Spiegel.de: 20 Years on – Berlin Celebrates the Day the Wall fell…
» Flash Mob: Recreating the Berlin Wall with 33,000 people…