Havel at Columbia



This Day in The Velvet Revolution, 1989

November 9, 1989: Berlin Wall opened

The Krenz government in East Germany announces it will allow East German citizens with proper exit permission to enter West Berlin directly through checkpoints in the Berlin Wall. Thousands mob the checkpoints, making it impossible for authorities to maintain control and the Wall is effectively breached. The communist leadership in Czechoslovakia remains silent on the events in Berlin. Havel and other opposition activists continue to press for changes and dialogue between the government and citizens' groups.