Bush jr those are mostly good 6 pm on the 9th of november 1989 going to shut off he opened a press conference about the meeting of the communist Party Central committee you know some hundreds of journalists had come hoping to hear news about east germanys latest decision on letting its citizens travel kind toward for not a good about the travel regulations only party my language it was all waffle so it went on for half an hour it was dreadfully boring and all the other journalists felt the same thing. You. Should be asking john such urgency gets asked by an Italian Journalist a condo am i was invited to ask a question should not freak him out i can put a concept on my free conduit ehrman was standing to the left he derives silly he couldnt get a seat anymore schabowski mr schabowski you spoke of mistakes dont you think the draft travel bill you presented a few days ago. It was a big mistake for the state for free to get out of this and all it was it was that moment i remembered i had wanted to talk about the issue of the travel regulations. This is what a. Decision has been made today the recommendation of the political euro has been accepted is that the passage of doubt permanent departure be taken from that draft and come into effect. I reached into this pile and was looking for the note i was supposed to read out a colleague came to help me out so if the media has been trying to tell the journalists they should have been given the statement then he read it. As a very bad guys enough and i was a personal trips to other countries maybe a point for without giving any family all other reason. Its just your. Own and are just coming made as all the Border Crossings between east and west germany. At this point i called out when. Just as far as i know immediately. But i was shocked immediately i leapt up and left my supper i really wanted to know what this rubbish was all about a. Lot worse in the fog i think of interest. Its true permanent departures can take place at all of the Border Crossings into west germany west berlin. With the man in charge of the Border Crossing at bonheur must pass or have made an engine phone call to his superior what had shut off skip been talking about is there not always a lot of the real he said to me youre calling me because of that rubbish i said yes thats exactly why i am calling he said you know the orders east german citizens are only allowed to leave under the Current Conditions meaning they need a passport and a proper visa otherwise they have to be turned back. 5 intellectually. The east german leadership heard nothing about any of this because the put it pure and the ministers and all the Top Party Officials posted at the Central Committee meeting none of them had seen schabowski press conference. At the same time in warsaw how much cold was also in the dark about the events in east berlin the west german chancellor was the guest as a banquet. The room was a box and then sure boss he pulled up the paper put it back as walking and left the stage i want out ran upstairs with my camera crew and were a small room with a sharansky who was completely calm and collected down our eyes you still have a piece of paper here so i do i said will read it again but it took it out put on his glasses read it again and i said that that means citizens from each can go out of the war any way that they want to they are not further forced to leave judy. By a. Transit. Through another country it is possible for them to go through the war some point but it is possible for them to go through the border. I ran downstairs and out of the course of american newspaper correspondents were a friend of mine and i looked at them and i said its true the wall is down. A few minutes later the news programs on both east and west German Television reportage what had happened. With nothing on it according to Police Bureau membership of east german citizens wanting to leave their country no longer have to take the d. To a via czechoslovakia standing permanent departures can occur by all of the Border Crossings between east germany and west germany and west berlin. Shortly after the press conference a west german camera crew was filming in a pub in east berlin where people were drinking a toast to the new regulations. Youll be talking about yourself all. The way i dont know what to say i used to cry every day now were all happy. Its great whats just happened nobody here was expecting but ok. They celebrated the unexpected news with beer bubbly and rocknroll. The soviet envoy only had about the new regulation from the television. Came as a shock. Become defunct you booked me scruples we hadnt known anything about it on board we were watching television. It was disappointing and we were if you like or a bit angry for years book. Me to you the tension was rising all the time for no. Thing the danger that someone would lose their nerve was quite i could never been pushed to. The Border Crossing point upon her mushed ass and. Over 50 that i didnt have to wait long for people to arrive after id been there for our own 20 minutes the 1st came and asked if they were allowed out. The officer asked if they had a passport and a resume out of it as i explained in resume no they said but he said we were allowed to leave no room. And it was now that the explosive nature of schabowski is no became clear while its author was sitting in the theater. Ringback which other fatigues i had theater tickets for that evening to see a run of folks buy goods or the incredible thing about this play which was sold out like so many was that the people couldnt laugh any more because it was such a parody of the actual situation that it was absolutely serious discussion but lance. The innocent child black fish and his wife rita were just finishing choir practice afterwards they walked down to the plans how about district. Of all. Was quiet in the streets there was no excitement most people were watching television western television so theres a football match was on and that was a good reason to switch on the t. V. On to. A west German Television station was broadcasting a match between stuttgart and buy in munich. By now the meeting in the Central Committee had come to an end. Going to shut bosky was also finishing work in his office it had been a long day the man who had announced the new travel regulation left the Central Committee building to go home to family the gated community where the politburo members lived. And. Hundreds and its often been. When i arrived in van litz i saw that the windows were all dark which meant that the majority of the political row members slept through these eventful hours is a desire. Increasing numbers of people were making their way to the Border Crossing it on her mushed. They were convinced they were now allowed to travel. But Border Security hadnt received any new instructions the officer tried to tell the crowd he couldnt let them through. The people could no longer be turned back so easily. The minds eye of the money out that more and more people were arriving they came on foot in cars and by tram they werent aggressive at this point but they were very firm in their demands on him not to please. You know i dont think it. Was. Made another worried phone call to his superior cannot see going on asking for instructions to me available through my superior told me on the phone that hed call the ministry hed get hold of either the minister or is deputy he said i could listen to the conversation. As it were to me out of use of type he wanted to show me that at this point there would be no hope or no rescue from above what kind of a good little. No one in the stasi ministry wanted to believe what he was telling them. To look at the question came back was i capable of making realistic a valuation is or was i acting out of fear at that point id had enough its in there are thousands of people out here he said listen to them yourself. When i got the receiver back i could hear the man had hung up i didnt know what to think and i couldnt understand that they didnt believe me the world as this big item that im your kind dog tricked. In the western half of berlin the news from east germany was spreading as well. Towards 9 oclock we became curious britain i went to the Border Crossing on invalid and strasser that was the closest one and it could be reached relatively easy from charlottenburg and. At that point 140 kilometer long border around west berlin was still closed every when. People were now arriving at the Border Crossing up on her mushed in ever increasing numbers. Made up his mind trick at the end on. The model i was there i wouldnt usually have been authorized to call the alarm because i wasnt senior enough but i considered it necessary to go on and on with the in try evening we had to be prepared that people would come and storm the border good. I was called back by colonel seguin home he told me this is whats going to happen all of the people productively showing up at the border loudly demanding to leave may leave all of them fight for the policy over the top of all as well as a bunch of all before i was to stamp the photograph in their passport which would allow them to leave but it would prevent them from coming back again until i was fly this through stockmann. I wasnt allowed to explain this to the people they were only to be told about this when they tried to reenter. Then they would be told they were not allowed back in the community because thats one way trip was known as the safety valve solution. Had no idea about any of that although their flat was just 2 blocks away from von hire mushed us and i got my money my husband like to watch every Football Game and i was annoyed when he wanted to switch the television off so i said no i want to watch the news but i thought that was decisive. Good evening we should all be weary of using too many supportive because they quickly lose their force but todays superlatives are appropriate today the 9th of november is a historic day east germany has announced that its borders would be opened immediately to anyone but. We thought we werent hearing right we looked at each other and we live close to the Bornholmer Strasse a Border Crossing so we went to check it out it was real and we wanted to see this sensation we got dressed and headed to. The situation of the Border Crossings in berlin is currently quite confusing unclear here is invalid and strong so nothing has happened all evening on the west side people are still waiting for the 1st people from east berlin to come over the short visit to the years and of course mr. Then the safety valve solution was applied at bonheur mushed casa does he wanted to use the trick to relieve pressure on the border and also to get rid of possible dissidents he shot and passed fish fell into the trap. The saudi border shoot is great to us all the people standing there we went all the way to the front to the heart of the window open and someone said what do you want those documents i asked whether he knew that the border was open now i was faced with that we said we wanted to cross. The line or ask for our passports in a really brusque way but instead through your presence here is where i. Got our staff were doing our passports and off we went you know what the noise. What they didnt know was that the stamp meant they were expatriate it. I was so excited my legs were shaking i was scared because i didnt know what would happen i knew and he was the last thought that all this is that it was this really a good thing we did in order walked across very slowly and did it when i was there with me. When i go in civilian its quite a way from the order to the bridge we were completely on our own we couldnt see anyone there was nobody around. Usually these Border Crossings were very proudly lit but here it was dark. There was a sentry box and a fence with dogs behind it anyone who tried to escape here could expect to be arrested or shot peter but that fish felt very apprehensive. The news of schabowski snow was also spreading in west berlin the 1st people from that side of the war began arriving at the Brandenburg Gate u. S. News anchor tom brokaw was preparing for his broadcast weve been kind of keeping track for German Television about what was going on i know a lot of students have come from the west got up on top of the wall and there always thought they were back again and there was a story. Just a horrible like i was so i got up hard to watch and it was chaos i couldnt hear myself. It was all west german chancellor helmut kohl was trying to get a picture of the situation in berlin. At that time in poland you couldnt just find a telephone in a guest house to make a call we had a floor mounted instrument with a crank lever that you had to turn the lever to create the line to the situation room in the chancellery. Get sent. To all that was needed so we could be connected to the people the chancellor wanted to talk to in this concert question but. Shortly after 11 we shot and lit up our fish one half way across the still empty bridge at the bottom harm us last a crossing. My mind when i held on to my husband and we walked across together then he let me go and waved his hat out of joy. Cup recently of course if we were so happy imagine i said were not even retired and we can cross over oh well how is that barbed wire for twirled around if she gets dizzy easily so i didnt do that for long so i threw up by hand up that we didnt know what we were going to do next its what i want to. Become the who got control and they came across all alone and there was nobody else around i asked how they got here. They told me theyd gone up to the little building and got stamps in their passports they said they were allowed to leave east germany because i couldnt believe it but thats what they told me so. I thought thats all for us to get off he asked if we wanted to stay. I said stay the wall is open and we live right there. So i told him we live there and he said he live there that was our home. Or dog and then he invited us to. Their condo. Paycheck really took a couple on his own private tour of west berlin by night. As you do it as well you know as we were driving through west berlin wall nothing was going on but everything was normal city was calm there was advertising and everything was brighter but there were many people around why we wasnt like the west berliners were already dancing in the streets of this was it on sort. Of on hard must pass a Border Crossing hardly a dozen men left about 500 people go through to the west they included those whose demands to leave are the loudest im sorry were just standing nearby. But the vast majority of the people waiting still not allowed to leave. Were being made a mockery of what could have stayed at home got some sleep instead would have come of i mean told about this its ridiculous out of oz i didnt see the idea that suddenly a piece of paper showed up at the border schabowski snow which was making the rounds. As it would communicate off itself all i do and keep our eyes near fishel notes says personal trips out of east germany can be applied for without giving any reason just say this about talk that. The situation was escalating. You want to dance will not and it was a myth about how and they came so close to our colleagues that they could have grabbed the guns they were carrying which would have been dreadful. And. Thats not the. Sorcery through. The market. When you bring up the middle out of them students will often get beaten by asked my colleagues to step into the office and tell me want to should do they told me i should know i was the boss office. I asked if i should let the people out or have them shot here god doesnt compute this very. In the soviet Embassy Officials fear the west. Bowser should not. Waste money for important. When such developments occur you know that if it happens just once if just a single shot is fired or the Border Police get health it with stones just once you get them the situation can get out of control very quickly it should be easy to throw your own guns schmoo at that point west berlin medical students benedictine and my and his flatmate better weeks the invalid mistrusts a Border Crossing. And come when we arrived we saw many people standing within the border facilities which hadnt been possible before the mood was quite jolly some people had brought food and cooks were flying into the air sick or in fuel moved here with the invalid and stronger Border Crossing weve let ourselves be swept along with the actions of many people from west berlin or pushing their way across the border beyond the wall far into east berlin territory the east german Border Police are sitting in their watch toes watching the goings on sometimes even with smiles on their faces so in these mom and that was the 1st time i fully realized something was happening as had previously been unimaginable. And its not quite possible to see from here how close the people are getting to the checkpoint. Systems are going to make the crowd work their way further towards the border facilities until we were right at the barrier immediately behind it was a group of Peoples Police and side fun for politicized and. Those waiting at Bornholmer Strasse were beginning to run out of patience. He wanted to get out immediately. On the other side of the bridge the 1st east german citizens were returning from their trip to west berlin but technically theyd be next patrick. You go from the north i got a call from the 1st guard house by the bridge he said a young couple wanted to re enter but the woman had the passport stamp on a photograph and i said so what he replied they have their children at home. Playland. Just brought up a meal a cannot charge of. The cups and i live love and i said it no longer mattered whether the people had the stamp on their photograph or not they are up to boston dollars and lovely