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East Germany

Dossier: The events that led to the fall of communist Europe

Junge Leute bei einer Demonstration für mehr Demokratie in Berlin am 24.10.1989 unweit vom Alexanderplatz. Seit dem 40. Jahrestag der DDR am 7. Oktober reißen die Proteste unter dem Motto "Wir sind das Volk" im Land nicht mehr ab, führen schließlich zur politischen Wende und letztlich dem Ende der DDR im folgenden Jahr. Ab Herbst 1989 bildet sich eine ganze Reihe neuer oppositioneller politischer Gruppierungen. Foto: ddrbildarchiv.de/Lange/1264 +++(c) dpa - Report+++

Many were surprised when the border between East and West Germany was opened on the night of November 9, 1989. But there had been signs of increasing weakness, both in the Iron Curtain and the communist leadership of the German Democratic Republic for the last year.

DW.DE

Prague embassy crisis 'a severe blow to the Berlin Wall,' Genscher says

West Germany's former foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher tells DW how he experienced September 30, 1989, the fateful day when he told thousands of East German refugees in Prague their departure had been approved. (30.09.2009) 

Historic East German refugee train rolls again

Twenty years ago, a train carrying hundreds of East Germans left communist Czechoslovakia on a journey to West Germany and freedom. The one-time refugees have now retraced their historic trip on the "Freedom Train." (02.10.2009) 

The picnic that changed European history

On October 4, 1990, Helmut Kohl announced that it was in Hungary where "the first stone was knocked out of the Wall." The first holes appeared in the Iron Curtain following an August picnic in Sopron. (18.08.2009) 

Peace prayers helped bring down the Wall, says Leipzig pastor

The peaceful protests that brought down the Berlin Wall began with regular evenings of prayers in the Nikolai Church in Leipzig. Christian Fuehrer, who was pastor at the time, shared some memories with DW-WORLD. (07.01.2009) 

China's pro-democracy protests struck hope and fear in East Germany

East Germans feared the worst as they watched China's pro-democracy crackdown on West German TV 20 years ago. But their revolution turned out to be peaceful, thanks to Glasnost and the role of Protestant churches. (03.06.2009) 

Poland blazed the trail for the fall of communism

Much of the world now associates the end of communism in Europe with the collapse of the Berlin Wall. But in fact, the dismantling of the system started in Poland some 10 years before with the founding of Solidarity. (30.10.2009) 

Audios and videos on the topic

Protest wave culminated in the fall of the Wall

Trailblazer: Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev

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Street in a town of the former GDR

Eastern Germany is western Germany's trillion euro bet 24.09.2010

German reunification, 20 years underway, has consumed billions of taxpayers' euros in the more affluent western half of the country. So will billions more be needed to keep the new states afloat 20 years from now?

Neo-Nazi skinhead pictured from behind

The rise of the far-right in the East 21.09.2010

Along with many other prejudices, eastern Germany has had to contend with a reputation for neo-Nazism. It's not entirely unjustified, but right-wing extremism in the East has roots in economic hardship.
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Bonn booms since losing its status as capital 21.09.2010

For over 40 years the small town of Bonn was the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany. After reunification the government moved back to Berlin, but Bonn didn't sink into provincial obscurity. Quite the contrary.

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