"These photos show how the totalitarian state didn't just disappear from one day to the next. During the night of 10 November, people quite simply charged the Wall on the Western side. They danced and celebrated on the Wall. People went wild and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Members of the People's Police didn't intervene, they just watched. But the atmosphere was completely different when we went back to the Wall with several other people the next morning. The Wall had been cleared and the border guards had taken it again. They rather gave the impression that it wasn't a good idea to mess around with them (even if they weren't armed). People spoke quite softly and exchanged views about the situation and its possible significance. It was quiet, oppressive and also a little frightening – the party atmosphere was well and truly over."
Dagmar Lipper (West Berlin)
