The opening of the Iron Curtain between Austria and Hungary on August 19, 1989 set in motion a peaceful chain reaction. It was the largest escape movement from East Germany since the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. An end to the Cold War was declared at the Malta Summit three weeks later, and the reunification of Germany took place in October the following year.
About Fall of the Berlin Wall in brief
The opening of the Iron Curtain between Austria and Hungary on August 19, 1989 set in motion a peaceful chain reaction. It was the largest escape movement from East Germany since the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. The fall of the inner German border took place shortly afterwards. An end to the Cold War was declared at the Malta Summit three weeks later, and the reunification of Germany took place in October the following year. On 18 October 1989, longtime Socialist Unity Party of Germany leader Erich Honecker stepped down in favor of Egon Krenz. Despite promises of reform, public opposition to the regime continued to grow. On 9 November 1989, the Interior Ministry published a draft of new travel regulations, which made cosmetic changes to H onecker-era rules. The draft enraged ordinary citizens, and was denounced as ‘complete trash’ by West Berlin Mayor Walter Momper. To ease the difficulties, the Politburo decided on 9 November to allow refugees to take private round-trip travel to take place directly between East and West Germany. The new regulations were to take effect on the same day, including private travel between East Germany and West Berlin, including between East Berlin and Berlin. On 10 November, the new rules were to apply to both temporary and permanent emigration. On 11 November, a special border crossing near Schirndorf was created specifically for this portion of the border. On 12 November, East German citizens could travel abroad without having to meet the previous requirements for those trips for those who wanted to go abroad.
On 13 November, two days after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the West German government announced the end of the German occupation of Afghanistan. On 14 November, President George H W Bush signed an agreement to end the occupation. On 15 November, West Germany and the Czech Republic signed a deal to end their military exercises in the Middle East. On 16 November, Czechoslovakia agreed to end its military exercises with the Soviet Union. On 17 November, Poland agreed to stop its military drills with the U.S. in the Mideast. On 19 October, the Czechoslovak government agreed to a cease-fire with the United States. On 20 October, Hungary agreed to an end to its joint military exercise with the West. On 21 October, Czechs agreed to cease their joint military exercises. On 22 October, both the Czechs and the West agreed that the cease-fires would be lifted. On 23 October, a deal was reached between the Czech and West German governments. On 24 October, East Germany agreed that Czechs would not be allowed to use their border to smuggle refugees into the West, and that they would be able to use it to send back refugees to East Germany. On 25 October, an agreement was reached to stop the flow of refugees to the West from Hungary. On 26 October, the border between the two countries was re-opened. On 27 October, the border was sealed to prevent East Germans from fleeing to West Germany, but it was reopened again.
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