This day eighteen years ago

Today the Germans remember a historical moment : this day in 1989 the terrible Iron Wall fell.
And ironically, this happened by mistake.
Guenter Schabowski, a member of the so called Politbuero of the DDR made a comment on TV and Radio. He mistakenly said that the citizens of the DDR had the right to leave the DDR for the Western part with “immediate validity”.
Hundred thousands of people went to the control sections within East Berlin to leave at once, they had waited more than 30 years for this very moment!
Confronted with this mass of people the officers and soldiers in charge lost total control and could do nothing else than opening the deadly barriers.
Nobody was able to believe what was happening in that moment.
The first few people crossed the border to the western part of Berlin and NOTHING happened to them. There was no shot fired as it would have happened just an hour before.
When they arrived to the other side of the wall, they were greeted and hugged from the people already waiting for them.
Seldom so many tears rolled down their cheeks.
Finally it was again together what always belonged together.
This not only changed Germany, but also Europe if not the whole world.