Exhibition theme: The Border Opens: A family gathering after the fall of the Wall [17/87]

OBJECT INFORMATION

Bild / Berlin / Bundestag sang Deutschlandlied / Geschafft! / Die Mauer / ist offen / Tausende rannten / an Grepos vorbei / Goldregen / 6 Tausender / Wussow / Ich heirate Yvonne / Neues Auto / und Bargeld

B.Z. / Bingo / Jeder [darf] 30 Ta[...]

Die Mauer ist / weg! Jeder darf ab sofort durch! / Deutschland weint vor Freude. / Die ersten sind schon da! / Wir reichen uns die Hände! / Berlin / ist wieder / Berlin! / Atala

      

Almost everyone knows to this day where he or she was on 9 November 1989. The joy at being suddenly granted the freedom to travel, also to West Germany, was immense. Each time a new border crossing was opened, people celebrated. In the same way, the removal of segments of the Wall and of border fence, as well as the reconstruction of roads between East and West became important events. Countless photographs and films taken in Berlin and at the inner-German border document these incidents as they occurred – thus preserving the good fortune of experiencing everything live for the family album.

Original Caption

"On 10 November we queued for ten hours to get an entry stamp. That day people let off so much steam that even doors got smashed. Owing to the great rush, food and drink was handed out to those waiting. But despite the long wait, it remains an unforgettable experience. This picture was taken on 11 November in Spandau at my mother-in-law's. She went to retire in the West in 1983. In the picture, you can see my sister-in-law and my little nephew (who had gone over to the West in 1986), my brother-in-law, my son, my husband and myself."

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