There are countless stories about who for what reason was where on 9 November 1989. And presumably everybody who was old enough at the time can remember where they first heard the news about the fall of the Wall. Or perhaps even where they were when that memorable press conference was held: Günter Schabowski, member of the Central Committee of East Germany’s governing SED party, announced more or less accidentally that the border was now open.
“I immediately thought: Oh, there's something really big happening there,” Thanh Nguyen Manh (58) remembers: “In the evening I grabbed my motorbike, drove to Teltow and then went to West Berlin on foot. Everything was lit up as bright as day, and the joy was unbelievable. I lost count of the complete strangers I simply embraced on the street.”