"After the reunification celebrations at Brandenburg Gate on the night of 2/3 October 1990, there was a counter-celebration on the evening of 3 October at Alexanderplatz under the motto: 'Shut Your Gob, Germany!' A huge contingent of police had been deployed there. Suddenly, there was a skirmish, stones flew through the air, a car was set on fire, and there was 'free beer' at the abandoned beer stands. The usual two blocks formed: the police and the crowd. Tempers flared on both sides. Attempts at mediation by an uninvolved bystander who ventured into the no-man’s-land between the two sides ended with someone throwing a cardboard banana box at his head. As if responding to some secret signal, the two fronts started to move: one side flitted to and fro hurling stones; the other, in pursuit. During the scrap not only were the stands wrecked, but also the glass windows of an electrical appliances shop under the S-Bahn arches were smashed, and the shop was looted."
Merit Schambach (Ost-Berlin)
