Berlin Wall Comes Down - 1989
The official date in history the Berlin Wall came down was was November 9, 1989, but the Wall was not taken down entirely on that date.
People came with sledge hammers (like this guy pictured), chisels, or anything else they could get their hands on to get a souvenir of this chunk of history.
The Berlin Wall was built by East Germany (starting in 1961) to cut off West Germany and West Berlin. The reason behind this blockade, was to keep West Germany from spreading its 'facist' beliefs.
You can imagine how unhappy this made German citizens. They could not visit their family or friends freely.
During the period of time between 1961 and 1989, there were 100 deaths related to people trying to climb over the Wall to defect to West Germany.
Anyone caught trying to jump the wall, was subject to violent response by soldiers.
In 1989, political change started to take place in East Germany. The East German government announced that people would be permitted to visit the West, and this lead to throngs of citizens hopping from side to side, and they all started to party.
Hooray!
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