How did the surprising opening of the Berlin Wall come to pass on November 9th, 1989? Günther Shabowski, a member of the politburo of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), became famous when he read the new travel provisions on a press conference being broadcasted live, which led to tens of thousands of people going to the border crossing-points along the Berlin Wall asking for permission to pass. Shortly after that the entire Inner German border was opened.
This book tells how exactly the fall of the Berlin Wall took place and why. It also shows how the border troops, the Ministry for State Security and the Party leaders experienced this event and how they reacted to it. The foundations of this definitive book on the topic are years of research and hundreds of interviews with contemporary witnesses. The result is a descriptive chronicle – as exciting to read as a crime story.