© dpa
Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) has praised the fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago as a "lucky day for Berlin" and for Germany.
On November 9, 1989, thousands of courageous people in the GDR took to the streets for freedom and brought down the Wall, Wegner emphasized in a statement. "After many years of separation, SED dictatorship and immeasurable suffering, the way was clear for the unification of East and West."
Wegner continued: "Just as courageous people fought for freedom and democracy 35 years ago, many courageous people around the world are fighting for it today. Our unreserved solidarity goes out to them and Berlin, as a city of freedom, stands firmly by their side." To mark the anniversary, Berlin is showing a poster installation along the former course of the Wall in Berlin. It documents what freedom means for each and every individual. Wegner appealed to the people of Berlin: "Uphold freedom, celebrate freedom. Because without freedom, everything is nothing."
Today, Thursday, the House of Representatives and the Senate are also commemorating the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in a joint ceremony. On Friday, Wegner will meet international and national civil rights activists in front of the Brandenburg Gate. In the evening, a gala dinner is planned at Kraftwerk Berlin. On Saturday morning, the central commemorative event will take place at the Berlin Wall Memorial with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, civil rights activists and youth groups from Germany and abroad.