November 9th marks the fall of the Berlin Wall, a key moment in the history of both Germany and the entire world, and is generally seen as the end of the Cold War.
Erected in 1961 by the German Democratic Republic, this 155 km-long concrete barrier dividing West Berlin from East Berlin was the physical embodiment of the Iron Curtain separating two opposing worldviews and ideologies: capitalism and communism.
On 9 November 1989, after weeks of peaceful civil unrest, the leader of the communist party in East Berlin, Günter Schabowski, announced that GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin “sofort, unverzüglich” (now, immediately), taking the city and the entire world by surprise. Scenes of cheering crowds flocking to the Brandenburg Gate, climbing on top the “Wall of Shame”, and kissing and hugging entered the annals of history and will remain in our collective memory forever.
Today, the remains of the Berlin Wall are one of Berlin’s most popular attractions and a global symbol of peace and unity.
Did you know that you can actually find one piece of the Berlin Wall in Brussels today?
If you want to learn more about the history of the Berlin Wall and about how it still has an influence on today’s Germany, have a look at following speeches:
Pedagogical material:
25284 (EN): The Berlin wall: 25 years later
23532 (FR): Le mur de Berlin et autres murs
25758 (FR): Les murs, même tombés, demeurent dans nos têtes
23422 (ES): 9/11/1989: La noche más larga en Berlín
22991 (IT): La cortina di ferro
Real-life speeches:
25221 (DE): Festrede der Bundeskanzlerin zum Tag der Deutschen Einheit 2014
30911 (DE): 30 Jahre deutsche Einheit und deutsche EU-Ratspräsidentschaft
Viel Spaß beim Üben!
Your Speech Repository Team