Event series
The Fall of the Wall on November 9, 1989

1989-2019: Thirty Years after the Fall

​November 9, 2019 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This historic event had enormous implications not only for Germany, but also for the rest of the East Bloc and the world. The construction of the wall began on August 13, 1961 and separated West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) from East Germany (German Democratic Republic) and tragically divided families for 28 years. When the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, this set the domino in motion leading to the reunification of the two Germanys on October 3, 1990 and the downfall of some of the most oppressive regimes in Eastern Europe. This historic event became a source of inspiration for many decades for filmmakers from both East and West Germany. The Goethe-Institut presents four films, two from East Germans and two from West Germans, to mark this important anniversary.