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Cover Story

Grades 4-6

The Day the Wall Fell

Days before the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Angela Merkel, Germany's leader, visited Washington, D.C., and addressed a joint session of Congress. Merkel thanked the United States for helping reunify Germany after the wall fell on November 9, 1989. Back home in her country, celebrations rang out.

From 1961 to 1989, the heavily guarded Berlin Wall divided the city of Berlin. The streets on one side of the wall belonged to West Germany, a democratic country where people were free. On the other side was East Germany, a nation where the government had strong control over its citizens' lives.

With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe came the fall of the Berlin Wall. For the first time in 40 years, East Germans could travel to the West. Berliners were so happy, many danced all night, while others took axes to tear down the hated wall. In 1990 East and West Germany reunited, but the change was not easy. Now, Germany celebrates this historic anniversary as one unified nation.

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