BERLIN From the great archive of Magnum Photos, here some snaps that tell about the days and the nights of celebration and freedom, begun on 9th November 1989. A historic date for the whole world because the government of East Germany (DDR: Deutsche Demokratische Republik) decreed the opening of the borders with West Germany (BRD: Bundesrepublik Deutschland). So, the Berlin Wall (die Berliner Mauer) – built by DDR to stop people fleeing from East to West, and that has divided the city for 28 years, from 13th August 1961 to 9th November 1989 – becomes an emblematic place for humanity. Germany was officially reunified on 3rd October 1990.
GERMANY. The fall of the Berlin Wall. November 1989. – photo by Raymond Depardon
GERMANY. The fall of the Berlin Wall. November 1989. – photo by Raymond Depardon
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds during the immediate aftermath of the opening of the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie at midnight on November 9th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds during the immediate aftermath of the opening of the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie at midnight on November 9th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds during the immediate aftermath of the opening of the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie at midnight on November 9th 1989. First edition of newspaper proclaims “Die Mauer ist Weg. Berlin ist Wieder Berlin” (The Wall has Gone. Berlin is Again Berlin). – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. An East German celebrates. November 9th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds during the immediate aftermath of the opening of the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie at midnight on November 9th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds during the immediate aftermath of the opening of the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie at midnight on November 9th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Celebrations in the immediate aftermath of the opening of the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie at midnight on November 9th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Celebrations in the immediate aftermath of the opening of the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie at midnight on November 9th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds during the immediate aftermath of the opening of the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie at midnight on November 9th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. The fall of the Berlin Wall. November 1989. – photo by Raymond Depardon
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds on top of the Berlin Wall the morning after the opening of the border. November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. A couple climb to the top of the Wall the morning after the opening of the border. November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds on top of the Berlin Wall the morning after the opening of the border. November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. East German border guards watch over crowds gathered on top of the Berlin Wall. The day after the opening of the border, November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. East German border guards watch over crowds gathered on top of the Berlin Wall. The day after the opening of the border, November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. East German border guard watches over crowds gathered on top of the Berlin Wall. The day after the opening of the border, November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Impromptu concert as crowds gather on top of the Wall. November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds on top of the Berlin Wall the morning after the opening of the border. November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds climb on top of the Berlin Wall the morning after the opening of the border. November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Crowds queue to climb on top of the Berlin Wall, on the morning after the opening of the border. November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. The press gather to watch East Germans cross the border into the West. November 10th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. People on a newly-built viewing platform watch crowds gathered on top of the Wall. November 11th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. November 11, 1989. A crack in the Berlin Wall becomes a symbol of new freedom between East and West. – photo by Raymond Depardon
GERMANY. Berlin. November 11th, 1989. A young man bridges the wall between East and West Berlin. – photo by Raymond Depardon
GERMANY. November 11, 1989. A crack in the Berlin Wall becomes a symbol of new freedom between East and West. – photo by Raymond Depardon
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. A tourist visits the Wall two days after the borders between East and West opened. November 11th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Two days after the borders between East and West opened, queues gather outside Friedrichstrasse station to visit West Berlin. November 11th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Two days after the borders between East and West opened, queues gather to visit West Berlin. November 11th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Two days after the borders between East and West opened, queues gather outside Friedrichstrasse station to visit West Berlin. November 11th 1989. – Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Two days after the borders between East and West open, queues of East Berliner’s gather outside West Berlin sex shops. November 11th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Two days after after the opening of the border between East and West Berlin. November 11th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Three days after the borders between east and West Berlin open, East German guards remove revellers from the top of the Wall. November 12th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Three days after the borders between east and West Berlin open. November 12th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Three days after the borders between east and West Berlin opened. November 12th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Three days after the borders between east and West Berlin open. November 12th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Three days after the borders between east and West Berlin open. November 12th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Three days after the borders between east and West Berlin open, East German guards protect chunks of the Wall. November 12th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Tourists, three days after the borders between east and West Berlin open. November 12th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. View into border zone four days after the opening of the Wall. 13th November 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Four days after the borders between east and West Berlin open, West Berlin is packed with visitors. November 13th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Tourists visit the Wall four days after the borders between East and West Berlin open. November 13th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Tourists collecting fragments of the Wall four days after the borders between East and West Berlin open. November 13th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Five days after the borders between East and West open, East Berliners continue to pour into the West, completing forms in order to do so. November 14th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Car park full of Trabant’s and Lada’s. Five days after the borders between East and West open, East Berlin seems very quiet. November 14th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. Supermarket. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Five days after the borders between East and West open, East Berlin seems very quiet. November 14th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Five days after the borders between East and West open, a reveller scales the Wall. November 14th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Memorial to Peter Fechter, one of the first victims of the Berlin Wall’s border guards, killed while trying to escape to the West on 17 August 1962. The memorial reads: ‘ “Help Me” the 18-year-old young man cried. For 50 minutes he had been lying there bleeding to death, without medical assistance, and without the guards leaving their hiding-places. Risking their lives, West Berlin policemen tried to throw first-aid packets to him. But he was too weak. He was dying when he was at last carried away’. November 14th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Five days after the borders between East and West open, East Berliners continue to pour into West Berlin. November 14th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Five days after the borders between East and West open, East Berliners continue to pour into West Berlin. November 14th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Six days after the borders between East and West open, East Berlin seems very quiet. November 15th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Six days after the borders between East and West open, East Berlin seems very quiet. November 15th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Six days after the borders between East and West open, East Berlin seems very quiet. November 15th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Six days after the borders between East and West open, East Berlin seems very quiet. November 15th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. East Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Six days after the borders between East and West open, East Berlin seems very quiet. November 15th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. West Berlin. The Fall of the Berlin Wall. Seven days after the borders between East and West open, tourists continue to visit the wall. November 16th 1989. – photo by Mark Power
GERMANY. November 1989. East Berliners, visiting the West, arrive at the border sector between East and West Berlin. – photo by Bruno Barbey
GERMANY. Berlin. On the wall, people celebrating New Year’s Eve. Near the Brandenburg Gate, after the fall of the wall in November of 1989. Sunday 31th December, 1989 (around midnight). – photo by Guy Le Querrec
