With celebrations starting on Saturday under the slogan ‘Preserve Freedom!’ Germany commemorates the fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago, amidst Russia’s war in Ukraine and widespread concerns that democracy is in danger.
The liberal principles of 1989 “are not something we can take for granted,” according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose coalition abruptly fell apart this week.
“A look at our history and at the world around us shows this,” added Scholz, whose three-party ruling alliance imploded on the day Donald Trump was reelected, plunging Germany into political turmoil and towards new elections.
Following months of nonviolent mass demonstrations, the dictatorship in East Germany opened its borders to the West on November 9, 1989, marking the beginning of German reunification and the end of Soviet communism.
Regarding the political crisis that struck right before the anniversary weekend, 75-year-old retiree Jutta Krueger, a Berliner who recalls those historic events, said: “It’s a shame that it’s coinciding like this now.”
“But we should still really celebrate the fall of the Wall,” she said, hailing it as the moment East Germans could travel and “freedom had arrived throughout Germany.”
On Saturday, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will begin ceremonies at the Berlin Wall Memorial in remembrance of the at least 140 individuals who perished while attempting to escape the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was supported by Moscow, during the Cold War.
Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate, which was once the route of the concrete wall that divided the city in two since 1961, will host a “freedom party” in the evening with a light and music extravaganza.
The Russian protest punk band Pussy Riot will play in front of the former Stasi headquarters, the dreaded secret police force of East Germany, on Sunday.
Pro-democracy activists from around the world have been invited for the commemorations — among them Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad.
Talks, performances and a large-scale open-air art exhibition will also mark what culture minister Claudia Roth called “one of the most joyous moments in world history”.
Replica placards from the 1989 protests will be on display along four kilometres of the Wall’s route, past the historic Reichstag building and the famous Checkpoint Charlie.
Also among the art installations will be thousands of images created by citizens on the theme of “freedom”, to drive home the enduring relevance of the historical event.
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