"It was 10 o'clock in the evening on 9 November. I was watching a reporter on television from the ZDF channel standing on the Bornholmer Bridge. He was waiting for the first people to walk across the bridge from East to West. Mr Schabowski had already announced on television that the Wall was to open with immediate effect.
The next morning my son and I went to the Bornholmer Bridge. There were so many people and we had to wait for at least two hours before crossing the bridge over to West Berlin. But there was also a special crossing which the border patrols used. They let about twenty people over at a time and before we knew it, we found ourselves in West Berlin. The area around Gesundbrunnen was abuzz with people. Everyone was cheering. My son had never been to West Berlin. I had often gone shopping in the Badstraße before the Wall was built. Many people were on their way to pick up their 'welcome money'. We had to travel as far as Reinickendorf to get ours. And upon arrival, we were warmly greeted with, 'At long last! We've been waiting for you.'"
Renate Elsholz (East Berlin)
(7 rankings) 
