20 Years - Die Berliner Mauer

By this hour, 20 years ago tonight, the Wall had opened and East Germans flooded into the West. They say that most simply crossed in order to say they did, in order to walk on Western streets, in order to buy something from a Western store; then, after wandering for a few hours, they crossed back over the barrier that no longer carried any meaning.

The commemorations and reflections have been almost exhaustively numerous on this historic anniversary. (Also check out the concert by the Brandenberg Gate). It was a time to remember the images of the day but also consider the boundaries and debated legacy that remain.

Lest Americans forget, Ronald Reagan's famous words were uttered more than two years before the Berlin Wall opened, and he played next to no direct role in the opening. However, his relationship with the reformist Gorbachev epitomized the thaw of the Cold War. Gorbachev did not attempt to crush revolutions, as his predecessors had, but instead embraced reform even as the hard-line East German leaders dug in their heels. Poland had already elected a democratic government, Hungary had torn the Iron Curtain by opening borders with the West, and the Czech Republic would soon follow. However, in the end, it was a mistaken word at a press conference that caused the Wall to open so suddenly, unleashing the flood of humanity into the streets of West Berlin on the night of November 9-10.

The rest, as they say, is history.