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Celebrations in Germany mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

Celebrations in Germany mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

By :  DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-11-08 07:45 GMT
Germany has kicked off celebrations marking 25 years since the epochal fall of the Berlin Wall, set to culminate in rock stars and freedom icons joining millions at an open-air party.
At least 389 people lost their lives trying to escape East Germany, according to an official toll, although victims groups put the figure much higher.
On November 9, 1989, East German border guards, overwhelmed by large crowds, threw open the gates to West Berlin, allowing free passage for the first time since it was built.
East Germany built the Wall, which it called an "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart", in August 1961 to halt a mass exodus to the West.
Entertainment will range from the Berlin State Orchestra to a fireworks display. British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel will perform the Wall anthem "Heroes", which David Bowie recorded when he lived in what was then West Berlin.
Following a ceremony at the elegant Gendarmenmarkt square, at least two million people are expected to gather at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity.
Merkel will on Saturday attend a memorial concert at Bertolt Brecht's historic Berliner Ensemble theatre opposite the former "Palace of Tears", where Easterners said goodbye to visitors returning to West Germany.
He used the opportunity to take a swipe at the far-left Linke, which has roots in East Germany's ruling party and had criticised Biermann's invitation to appear at the session. "Your punishment is to have to listen to me here -- enjoy," he told
Despite the party mood, old tensions resurfaced earlier Friday when dissident singer Wolf Biermann, who was kicked out of East Germany in 1976, performed his protest song "Ermutigung" (Encouragement) in parliament, in a tribute to those who resisted
Berlin has set up an ambitious installation featuring nearly 7,000 white balloons pegged to the ground along a 15-kilometre (nine-mile) stretch of the Wall's former 155-kilometre path. The glowing orbs, which from above look like a string of pearls
Gorbachev, 83, who is revered in Berlin for having refrained from a bloody crackdown on protesters in 1989, understated his own role in history, saying: "I am proud I could contribute a little bit to the fact that we live like this today".But the
"As Russia's actions against Ukraine remind us, we have more work to do to fully realize our shared vision of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace," he added.
 Relations between Russia and the United States are at their iciest since the end of
US President Barack Obama told the world to remember lessons from the emotional fall of the Berlin Wall. "I will never forget the scenes of East Berliners courageously taking to the streets, pushing past the guards and tearing down the wall that for
Germany would reunite within the year, on October 3, 1990. The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, whose "perestroika" and "glasnost" reforms helped pave the way for the Wall's fall, on Friday greeted crowds at Berlin's iconic former Checkpoint
The festivities under the banner "Courage for Freedom" recall the peaceful revolution that led communist authorities to finally open the border after 28 years in which Easterners were prisoners of their own government.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, is leading three days of commemorations for those killed trying to flee the repressive state, ahead of a giant festival Sunday marking the joyous breach of Europe's Cold War division
Celebrations in Germany mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

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