Thatcher Urged Gorbachev to Block German Reunification

Twenty years later, unified country celebrates togetherness

(NEWSER) - Fireworks illuminated the rainy skies above Berlin as Germans and high-profile visitors came together today to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall exactly 20 years ago. President Obama unexpectedly joined the festivities—in a video greeting introduced by Hillary Clinton. "There could be no clearer rebuke of tyranny," he said of the toppling of the barrier, which was re-enacted with 1,000 8-foot tall foam dominoes. "There could be no stronger affirmation of freedom." More»

Successes in Europe would boggle a 1989 mind: Applebaum

(NEWSER) - As “the exhaustive and perfectly blameless celebrations” of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall unfold, Anne Applebaum has a bone to pick. The festivities are “focusing on what didn’t happen rather than what did,” she writes, treating “the past two decades as a foregone conclusion.” But those 20 years have been perhaps the “best in Central Europe for 300 years,” and no one thought that would happen. More»

Dominoes, fireworks, music help mark 20 years

(NEWSER) - Hundreds of foam dominoes will fall today in Berlin, symbolizing the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has called Nov. 9, 1989, "the happiest day in recent German history," will lead the festivities. The guest list includes Hillary Clinton, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown, and Lech Walesa. A concert at the landmark Brandenburg Gate and a fireworks display will end the celebration. More»

(NEWSER) - After many years of indifference, Berliners have started getting serious about saving what's left of the most famous symbol of the Cold War, Der Spiegel reports. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, locals viewed it as merely an unfortunate reminder of a bad past and little thought was given to preservation. Researchers believe more pieces of the wall are now overseas than still in Berlin. More»

'Snackpoint Charlie,' actors in military uniforms labeled disrespectful to dead

(NEWSER) - The Disneyfication of Cold War landmarks in Berlin has irked people with bad memories of East Germany, the Independent reports. Critics, including former Allied officers and those who suffered under oppressive rule, argue that the atmosphere around places like Checkpoint Charlie—where actors in military uniforms hustle tourists for coins and "Snackpoint Charlie" sells burgers—disrespects the memory of those who died there fleeing Communist rule. More»