Germany Celebrates 20 years Since Fall of Berlin Wall!!!

BERLIN (Nov. 9) - Chancellor Angela Merkel and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev crossed a former fortified border Monday to cheers of "Gorby! Gorby!" as a throng of grateful Germans recalled the night 20 years ago that the Berlin Wall gave way to their desire for freedom and unity. Within moments of a confused announcement Nov. 9, 1989, that East Germany was lifting travel restrictions, hundreds of people streamed into the enclave that was West Berlin, marking a pivotal moment in the collapse of communism in Europe.

Music from Bon Jovi and Beethoven was to recall the joy of the border's opening, which led to German reunification less than a year later and the swift demolition of most of the wall — which snaked for 96 miles (155 kilometers) around West Berlin, a capitalist enclave deep inside East Germany. Memorials also were planned to the 136 people killed trying to cross the border. Candles were lit and 1,000 towering plastic foam dominoes placed along the wall's route to be tipped over later Monday. Also expected in Berlin for the ceremonies were the leaders of all 27 European Union countries and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The wall's opening came hours after a botched announcement by a senior communist official on a cold, wet night in 1989.

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