The Fall of the Berlin Wall -- 20 Years Later

Twenty years ago today, the Berlin Wall was breached and collapse of European Communism rapidly accelerated. From the archives of the BBC:

At midnight East Germany's Communist rulers gave permission for gates along the Wall to be opened after hundreds of people converged on crossing points.

They surged through cheering and shouting and were be met by jubilant West Berliners on the other side.

Ecstatic crowds immediately began to clamber on top of the Wall and hack large chunks out of the 28-mile (45-kilometre) barrier.

Link | Timeline of the Wall | Interactive Map of the Wall | PBS Documentary | Image: U.S. Department of State

Oooo...first...time for a meaningless comment.

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Thanks for this post! I miss Sagan, too. Interesting how nobody seems to have stepped into the breach left by his passing, to continue the work of making science accessible to the average person. He and Richard Feynman went a long way towards making science understandable.

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Sakki. I am sending you a chaeck for the full $60,000.

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Scot's comment made more sense before I deleted the spam :)

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Hellloo? What did we get when the wall fell? It's been 20 years and we even lost Communism. :^P

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Unfortunately, Communism still exists in some places. The fall of the wall was momentous, however, and it is a memory that still fills me with happiness.