When did the border between East and West Berlin open, signaling the fall of the Berlin Wall?

• A. 9 November 1989
• B. 3 October 1990
• C. 1 January 1990
• D. 11 September 1989

Answer: (A)

The moment being tested is the night the border really opened and the division symbolized by the Wall began to crumble. On 9 November 1989, East German authorities announced that travel restrictions were easing and that border crossings between East and West Berlin would be opened. That evening, people from both sides flooded the checkpoints and crossed freely, a powerful image of the Wall’s collapse and the start of Germany’s move toward reunification. The formal reunification happened later, on 3 October 1990, but the opening of the border on 9 November 1989 is what most people refer to as the fall of the Berlin Wall. The other dates don’t mark that key opening event.