A Brief History Lesson
Trip Start
Nov 07, 2009
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Trip End
Nov 10, 2009
Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Friday, November 6, 2009
In Poland, Solidarity was invited to work with the party and participate in limited free elections. Solidarity swept all but one seat it was allowed to compete for and was then allowed to form a government — ending Communist Party domination.
In Hungary, a new reformist leader came to power and immediately started to court the favor of the west by a step by step opening of its borders. Later completely free elections swept the communists out of power, reformers and all.
The open borders in Hungary caused tens of thousands of East Germans to flee to West Germany. The party's inept handling of that crisis precipitated another: mass demonstrations in Leipzig and, later, Berlin. The old leaders were replace with younger blood who decided to appease the crowds by allowing them to travel abroad freely, a key demand of the people. They fashioned a plan that allowed citizens to apply for passports and visas, stating that few applications would be denied. As an after thought, Günter Schabowski, spokesman for the politburo, was asked to announce the new travel regulations at a nationally televised press conference on November 9th, but he hadn't been entirely briefed on the plan. When asked when it would take effect, he said "As far as I know effective immediately, without delay." Immediately was supposed to mean that applications could be made starting the next day. Within minutes, East Berliners were flooding the border crossing stations along the Berlin Wall. The border guards had been given no instructions and could reach no one in power. The crowds grew, tension mounted. After a few hours, the guards, instead of opening fire, did the almost unthinkable. They opened the gates and let the people stream through.
Eleven months later Germany was reunified.
