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A press conference of the Central Committee of the SED takes place on the 9th of November, which is broadcast live on GDR television and radio. The whole GDR is watching with excitement. Actually, the press conference was to inform about new laws, that would counteract the mass flight and the protests of the GDR citizens. With that comes a new travel regulation that was planned to be introduced the following day.
"Private travel to foreign countries can be applied for without any preconditions [...]. Permits are issued at short notice. [...] Permanent departures can take place via all border crossing points of the GDR to the FRG [...]".
The journalists listen and ask questions. They want to know when the new law will come into force. After a short back and forth, government representative Günter Schabowski answers:
"To the best of my knowledge, that's immediate...immediate."
He had previously only been given a piece of paper by the SED politician Egon Krenz, of which he quoted. His speech goes down in GDR history as the biggest inadvertence of Berlins history.
The borders at the Berlin Wall open for the first time at Bornholmer Straße Berlin. After 28 years of division, West and East Berliners can once again face each other. Thousands of GDR citizens storm the open border. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the entire inner-German border is reopened.
Video details:
Period: 1989
Resolution: SD
Aspect ratio: 4:3
Original sound: yes
Colour: yes
Source: DRA - from "Aktuelle Kamera", GDR Television, 09.11.1989
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