Germany marks the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with fond memories of that day's joyous celebrations and somber ceremonies in honor of those killed in a desperate dash for freedom.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder paid tribute to the peaceful revolution against the communist regime that culminated in the destruction of the despised Wall that cleaved Berlin in two for 28 years.
"November 9 is a day marking the triumph of freedom and democracy," Schroeder said in a statement released late Monday.
"The people of East Germany broke down the Wall 15 years ago and conquered a cynical dictatorship."
Schroeder noted, however, that there were still painful economic and social divisions between East and West undermining German unity.
"To reach this goal, we will need to pursue a truly national effort," he said.
"This day is a warning to fight against inhumanity, an obligation for civil courage and a call to complete the unification of our country."
At the main annual memorial ceremony, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, Culture Minister Christina Weiss and conservative opposition leader Angela Merkel will lay wreaths at a former border crossing point at Bernauerstrasse.
The Gethsemane Church in east Berlin, a key meeting point for democracy demonstrators before the Wall fell, will hold a "Concert for Freedom and Democracy" while former chancellor Helmut Kohl will engage in a public debate with east German freedom activist Baerbel Bohley on Tuesday evening.
German President Horst Koehler thanked his visiting Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Madl on Monday for his country's contribution to the Wall's fall, noting that Hungary had allowed hundreds of East German refugees to escape to the West in September 1989.
The move opened the floodgates that forced East German authorities to announce that the freedom of travel that had been denied to citizens for nearly three decades would now be respected.
Communist authorities had ordered the closure of the borders in August 1961 to halt a mass exodus of their citizens to the West.
Officers with shoot-to-kill orders kept watch at the 155-kilometer (96-mile) Wall between East and West Berlin and the 1,400-kilometer-long border between East and West Germany.
At least 250 would-be refugees were killed trying to escape to the capitalist West and victims' groups say the figure is much higher.
The collapse of the Wall in November 1989 paved the way to Germany's reunification the following October, ending four decades of national division.
But 15 years on, the east is plagued by 18 percent unemployment, substandard infrastructure in many areas and the flight of young jobseekers to the west.
AFP