november 1909 the unimaginable happened the berlin wall fell the i'm caton was history germans were overjoyed oh. chancellor helmut kohl took advantage of the euphoria he convinced france britain and finally soviet leader mikhail gorbachev that a united germany would be at the service of europe. in record speed german unity was a great both nationally and internationally the 5 states of the former g.d.r. joined west germany on october 3rd 1990 kohl finally attained his goal a unified germany. we remember those days very well someone who made those days possible is with me here in the studio right now a former east german civil rights activist caterine. i think it's good to have you on the show we've talked before here at the big table i want to pick up on the