Events
Berlin Wall begins to crumble
When
9 November 1989 (All day)
East German official Guenter Schabowski announced at a news conference that travel documents would no longer be necessary for East Germans wanting to travel west.
Shortly thereafter, one border crossing opened followed by an onrush of East Berliners heading west.
People began celebrating at the Brandenburg Gate and at the Kurfürstendamm in West Berlin. On 10 November, demolition work began, aiming to create new border crossings. The fall of the Berlin Wall signalled the beginning of the collapse of communism and had dramatic implications for the work of the CSCE.