[germanophilia] An Important Anniversary:15 Years After The Wall

This seems apropos: 9.Nov.2004 is the fifteenth anniversary of the sudden opening off all checkpoints between the Russian and the Allied sectors of the German capital.

Amdist a welter of confusion and amid the breakdown of what was then the Deutsche Demokratsche Republik...or as we called it then, East Germany, checkpoints between East and West Berlin were suddenly thrown open.

While there would exist a Bundesrepublk Deutschland (West Germany) against a Stalinist-Communist eastern sibling for some months to come, this act put writing on the wall of the Egon Krenz-led regime. Soon enough, Germany would finally be a united nation for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Though the Berlin Wall itself would also persist for a while, it would no longer be a deadly barrier.

9.Nov.2004, The fall of the Wall. May our own walls fall, eventually.

Check out these links:

The German Information Center homepage, follow the big link on the front page.

Curious about getting a glimpse of Germany but don't feel inclined (or rich enough) to travel there? Cityscope has a selection of panoramic views of some of the greater German cities which are constantly updated.
See the construction of the new Regierungviertel including the Reichstag, view the newly reborn Pariser Platz (Paris Square)-the area immediately behind the Brandenburg Gate which, til the 90's, was a no-mans-land within the Wall's killing field. It's a document of space and time, where you can view the development of the biggest construction zone in the world-Central Berlin (follow the "City-Panorama" link in the navbar).