“My sky has bubbles.” -my 4yo

flammentanz:

09th November 1989 - The Fall of the Berlin Wall

At 18.51 nearly at the end of a rather boring press conference the East German politician Günter Schabowski, a Member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party, announces new possibilities for citizens of the GDR to travel abroad.

The communiqué reads as follows:

“Privatreisen nach dem Ausland können ohne Vorliegen von Voraussetzungen - Reiseanlässe und Verwandtschaftsverhältnisse - beantragt werden. Die Genehmigungen werden kurzfristig erteilt. Die zuständigen Abteilungen Paß- und Meldewesen der VP - der Volkspolizeikreisämter - in der DDR sind angewiesen, Visa zur ständigen Ausreise unverzüglich zu erteilen, ohne daß dafür noch geltende Voraussetzungen für eine ständige Ausreise vorliegen müssen.”

(“Applications for travel abroad by private individuals can now be made without the previously existing requirements (of demonstrating a need to travel or proving familial relationships). The travel authorizations will be issued within a short time. Grounds for denial will only be applied in particular exceptional cases. The responsible departments of passport and registration control in the People’s Police district offices in the GDR are instructed to issue visas for permanent exit without delays and without presentation of the existing requirements for permanent exit.”)

A West German reporter asks: “When does that go into effect?”
Schabowski answers somewhat perplexed: “That comes
into effect, according to my information immediately … without delay.”

(What no one had noticed: this regulation was blocked until 10.11.1989 at 4:00 clock. Only then it should go into effect.)

At first only hesitantly, because they initially didn’t believe that they understood the communiqué correctly, but later more and more inhabitants of East Berlin congregate before the border crossings to West Berlin.

The East German border guards are left entirely to themselves, because they do not have any instructions on how to proceed.

More and more people flock to the border crossings. Later there will be many thousands. They demand “Open the gate!” and assure “We’ll be back!”
Although the many people get more and more impatient there is no violence and nobody is injured.

Approximately at 21:20 at the border crossing Bornholmer Straße between the municipal district Prenzlauer Berg (East Berlin) and Wedding (West Berlin) some East Berliners are allowed to go to the West.

At 23:30 the commanding officer - Oberstleutnant Harald Jäger - surrenders before the onslaught of the masses and opens the turnpike - contrary to the laws of the GDR that are still in function at this time.

Thus, the first East German border crossing is open to West Berlin.

During the following hours all border crossings in Berlin open their turnpikes and ten thousands of East Berliners flock to the western part of the city where they are welcomed very warmly.

Total strangers hug, cry, laugh and are completely overwhelmed by their emotions.

Germany celebrates its greatest moment of happiness.

micdotcom:

One silver lining of the election night on Tuesday is the amount of women of color in the U.S. Senate quadrupled with three big wins in California, Illinois and Nevada. Their bios are seriously impressive.

ionaonie:

the-movemnt:

Pro-Trump Nazi graffiti was spray-painted on a window in Philadelphia

According to the

Philly Voice, two swastikas were scrawled in black paint along with the message “Sieg Heil 2016.” Sieg Heil is, of course, a Nazi victory salute. One of the swastikas appeared to make up the “T” in the word Trump. Tragically, the graffiti comes on the 78th anniversary of a tipping point in the Holocaust.

micdotcom:

fuzzyourself:

I feel so relaxed now! Thanks, random internet GIF!

in case you need this tonight.

micdotcom:

Hillary Clinton’s gracious and hopeful concession speech was exactly what we needed to start to heal