Good morning and welcome to The Most Interesting Thing. Explore the past to understand the present, one day at a time.

Read time ~7 min

• The Fall of The Berlin Wall (1989)

• King Egica Enslaves all Jews (694)

• Politics that Shaped the World

• Just For Fun

• Birthdays & Deaths

Event

Setting The Scene

Today, we’re turning back the clock to take a look at what happened exactly 34 years ago on this day. It’s 1989 and the global economy is undergoing transformations. Various countries are undergoing economic reform, free trade between nations is commonplace, and technology is advancing at a rapid pace. The world is going through massive cultural change as the World Wide Web gets invented by computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, The Simpsons debuts, and Nintendo came out with the first handheld gaming console, the Game Boy. 

Okay, so now that you understand what life is like in 1989, we are going to zoom in on one city in particular, Berlin. The past few decades have been marked by the Cold War, a battle between democracy and communism. Berlin was literally divided as a city, with a giant wall separating East Berlin and West Berlin for 28 long years. 

So what was it like living on either side?

East Berlin:

East Berlin is under the control of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), a socialist state with strict government control. If you are living here, the government tightly monitors your life, restricting your freedom of speech, press, and movement. As you walk down your street to the get groceries you see Socialist propaganda on the walls. You get to the store but there is a line around the block to get food as many products are scarce. Barbed wire, armed guards, and guard towers fortify a wall in the middle of the city to ensure you cannot escape to the other side. 

Not great. What about West Berlin?

West Berlin, in contrast, is a democratic enclave surrounded by East Germany. If you live here you can enjoy democratic freedoms, freedom of speech, and a market-based economy.  West Berliners had access to a wide range of consumer goods and services. There is a cultural vibrancy to the city, with a thriving arts and music scene. As you walk down the streets you see Allied military forces from the United States, United Kingdom, and France. But despite the safety and vibrant cultural scene, you are in a city isolated in East Germany. The city is only accessible by air and through heavily guarded transit routes. You haven’t been to the other side of the city in 28 years. 

What Happened?

It’s really a crazy story actually. It started as a simple misunderstanding.

On the evening of November 9, 1989, Günter Schabowski, an East German politician, announced during a press conference that East German citizens would be allowed to travel to West Germany and West Berlin. However, he did not specify when this new policy would take effect. When asked by journalists when the border crossings would open, Schabowski, apparently confused, replied that the new regulations were effective immediately. News of the East German government's decision spread rapidly.

Crowds of East Berliners gathered at the Berlin Wall's checkpoints, including the iconic Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie. The border guards, overwhelmed by the growing number of people and lacking clear instructions, eventually yielded to the pressure and allowed the East Berliners to cross into West Berlin. The scenes of East and West Berliners celebrating together, climbing the wall, and tearing it down were broadcast worldwide and became powerful symbols of the end of the Cold War era. 

Impact

The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for the reunification of East and West Germany, which officially occurred on October 3, 1990, and contributed to the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

Germany was finally one nation again, after 45 years.

This had a domino effect and led to political and economic reforms across Eastern Europe like in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. 

What else happened?

World

• At the 17th Council of Toledo, King Egica stripped all Jews of their land and sentenced them to slavery. (694)

• Spain, France, and Great Britain sign the Treaty of Seville. (1729)

• Kristallnacht, the “night of broken glass”, is carried out by the Nazis. (1938)

Politics That Shaped The World

• The United States receives the right to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (1887)

• The Supreme Court votes 6-3 against hearing a case to allow Massachusetts to grant residents the right to refuse military service in an undeclared war. (1970)

• Capital Punishment is abolished in the UK (1998)

Just For Fun

• Albert Einstein wins the 1921 Nobel Prize for physics (1922)

• Rolling Stone makes it’s debut (1967)

• Youngest person to become chess world champion (1985)

Birthdays

• Isabella of Valois (1389)

• Carl Sagan (1934)

• Anne Sexton (1928)

Deaths

• Constantine VII (905)

• Aert van der Neer (1603)

• Nadezhda Alliluyeva (1901)