Archive Digger

Today is the 21st anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

I went digging in the archives for stories from the day after. It’s interesting to read these newspaper reports and contrast them with the way the story would be told if it was happening TODAY in our, hyper active 24/7, pro-am media environment.

People Dance on Berlin Wall E. German Borders Open Up— Orlando Sentinel

East Germany on Thursday night opened both the Berlin Wall, the most dramatic and bitter symbol of the Cold War, and its border with West Germany to all of its citizens for the first time in 28 years. Thousands began streaming across to a delirious welcome in the West.

West Berliners, drinking champagne and cheering wildly, greeted the first East Germans to cross at Checkpoint Charlie and other crossing points along the 103-mile wall that was built across and around the city in 1961.

Action Shows that Anything is Possible Now— Sun Sentinel

Just as the wall evolved as a powerful symbol of division, so does its demise carry an equally strong message to all Europeans that, suddenly, almost anything is possible.

Those who dream of a continent undivided felt their goal a giant step closer to reality on Thursday as they watched another major chunk of the Iron Curtain fall away.

The long-held belief that Moscow would never permit East Germany, the westernmost cornerstone of its empire, to spin out of its orbit seems as dated as the wall itself.

As millions of East Germans paraded through the streets demanding an end to Communist rule, the 350,000 Soviet troops stationed in the country were conspicuous only by their absence from sight.

Hard Line to Sweeping Reforms— A Chronology— LA Times

East Germans Open Berlin Wall- Chicago Tribune

At Checkpoint Charlie, a crossing normally reserved for foreigners, East German police made no attempt to keep their own people from using it. The West Germans sent special shuttle buses to the other side to collect jubilant East Germans for a trip to Kurfuerstendamm, the glittering street of shops in the heart of West Berlin.

“Can you believe this is happening?“ exclaimed Angela Ebertus, an East Berlin clerk, as she and her husband strolled through Checkpoint Charlie early Friday morning. “No,“ he replied. “No, this must be a dream.“

The emotional scenes at the checkpoint, where more than 2,000 West Berliners gathered, were repeated at all 12 crossing points in Berlin. Early Friday, huge traffic jams developed in the center of West Berlin as the curious flocked to the wall.