The fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago today(November 9) is a reminder of the difference that ordinary people can make for the greater good. Exultant Germans on Monday(November 9) relived the spontaneous breaching of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago, as aging Cold War luminaries returned to the once-divided city to celebrate the peaceful outcome of Eastern Europe’s revolution for freedom.

The 'Berlin Wall' was a concrete barrier built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) (East Germany) that completely enclosed the city of West Berlin, separating it from East Germany, including East Berlin. The Wall included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses.

The separate and much longer inner German Border demarcated the border between East and West Germany. Both borders came to symbolize the Iron Curtain between Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc.

During a revolutionary wave sweeping across the Eastern Bloc, the East German government announced on November 9, 1989, after several weeks of civil unrest, that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, parts of the wall were chipped away by a euphoric public and by souvenir hunters; industrial equipment was later used to remove almost all of the rest. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on October 3, 1990.

“Looking back, we can see many causes that led to the peaceful revolution, but it still remains a miracle,’’ German President Horst Koehler told the assembled leaders yesterday.

In a video message shown at the main event, President Obama paid tribute to the dissidents and demonstrators who ushered in the fall of the wall 20 years ago. “Let us never forget Nov. 9, 1989, nor the sacrifices that made it possible,’’ Obama said to applause and cheers.

Mr. Ban-ki-Moon(Secretary General of UN)  issued a statement through his spokesperson in which he said the Wall’s tearing down “changed the course of history and came to symbolize the triumph of ordinary people in their quest for freedom. We owe it to all of those who fought for their fundamental rights and freedoms to never forget their struggle. Their story still inspires today.”

“The fall of the Berlin wall, twenty years ago, was an event of immense historical importance for world peace and the advance of democracy,” Ms Erina Bokova(Incumbent Director-General Of UNESCO) said. “It was the start of a new era, giving rise to hopes, not just in Eastern Europe but around the world, for a better life. A page had been turned.”