Steinmeier remembers the victims of the Wall: celebrate 35 years of freedom!

Steinmeier remembers the victims of the Wall: celebrate 35 years of freedom!

On November 9, 2024, a moving commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was held in Berlin. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier led the central event at the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse, where he placed a rose in the hinterland wall and commemorated the victims of the inner-German border. Together with representatives of the Polish Solidarity movement, he lit a candle to commemorate those who died at the Wall. The afternoon attracted tens of thousands of visitors, including many foreign tourists who visited the historic site.

Commemorations throughout Germany

The celebrations for the fall of the Wall did not only take place in Berlin. In Helmstedt, the Prime Ministers of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Weil and Haseloff, remembered the former inner-German border at a joint memorial ceremony. The heads of government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Schleswig-Holstein, Schwesig and Günther, met in Boizenburg on the Elbe. Schwesig emphasized that the courage of the East Germans 35 years ago was the best thing that could have happened to Germany. At a ceremony in Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg's Prime Minister Woidke called for the energy and optimism of 1989 to be used for the future. In a video message, Chancellor Scholz acknowledged the historic date and emphasized the value of unity.

These commemorative events underline the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the ongoing memory of the events that shaped Germany and Europe. November 9th remains a symbol of freedom and unity that resonates today.