thousands, tens of thousands of east germans going west have had to pass through other communist east bloc nations, most of them passing through czechoslovakia. but as of right now according to the official statement just concluded, they have the right to go directly to west germany. nbc correspondent dennis murphy is in berlin right now and has been following the events. the news conference on television. dennis, what more do you know about this startling decision? dennis: it is truly astonishing. in a series of events that have happened the last few days and hours. literally in the last five minutes on television here in west berlin and also in the east, the germans east and west, speaking for the government, the

the main celebration german president in my hour paid tribute to east germans and others in the east bloc whose peaceful demonstrations led to the fall of the iron curtain here people to carry their legacy into the present. invent via. today when we remember the brave people back then with gratitude. and maybe even tears in our eyes and we can't just sit by and watch as that for which they fought is forgot you. just we can't allow people to be excluded and attacked democracy to be disrespected and our solidarity destroyed we can't allow that to happen. to notice. earlier in the day leaders from central and eastern europe placed roses to honor the many who were killed trying to escape communist east germany on banners toss the ball and run straight to the middle of the street dividing families neighbors and friends. chancellor spoke at the chapel of reconciliation nearby it was built on the former death strip where the east german government demolished a church to build border posts. having grown up in eastern germany merkel knows the impact of the berlin wall firsthand. at this ceremony s

in the months leading up to the collapse of the communist east bloc german rock band scorpions were some of the 1st western musicians to play in the soviet union it was autumn $989.00 and the wind of political change that was blowing in moscow thanks to mikhail gorbachev's policy of glasnost inspired the song of change that became an anthem for the end of the cold war. and with its welcome to arts and culture celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall in november 1989 mikael go brush off the last leader of the soviet union is one of the heroes of germany's peaceful revolution at least from a western perspective 3 decades later the man who rocked the world with his vision of social democracy met with the rockers who wrote that soundtrack of hope that we just heard they are of course in the meantime good friends and scorpions paid the 88 year old got a better of a visit in moscow. don't go. listening to them with of. course singer close mindedness.

in the months leading up to the collapse of the communist east bloc german rock band scorpions or some of the 1st western musicians to play in the soviet union it was often 1989 and the wind of political change that was blowing in moscow thanks to mikhail gorbachev's policy of glasnost inspired the song of change that became an anthem for the end of the cold war. and with its welcome to arts and culture celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall in november 1989 mikael go brush off the last leader of the soviet union is one of the heroes of germany's peaceful revolution at least from a western perspective 3 decades later the man who rocked the world with his vision of social democracy met with the rockers who wrote that soundtrack of hope that we just heard they are of course in the meantime good friends and scorpions paid the 88 year old got a better of a visit in moscow. don't go. listening to them with of. course singer klaus mind serenading michelle gorbachev with his famous ballad about the fall of communism and the end of the cold war. with former polish pres

the freedom to travel beyond the former communist east bloc was a dream east germans could only enjoyer the fall of the wall. today they travel more often to the west then west germans to the east. asked about travel to the east or west since 1989, the people of western germany say they rarely go to the eastern part of the country. i contrast, eastern germans travel four times as often to western germany. 30 years on, despite differences in culture and perceptions, people from the former east and west say they still feel they are all simply germans. carl: dw of course has special coverage and reports of events that led to the fall of the berlin wall 30 years ago. we will have live coverage of the main ceremonies and commemorations on saturday, november 9. the u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo is in germany for a visit, time to mark the anniversary. the also came to address disagreements over current political and military alliances. reporter: the u.s. secretary of state came to berlin with china and russia on his mind. instead, wherever mike pompeo went, he was confronted with a que

respondents say their life achievements are undervalued the freedom to travel beyond the former communist east bloc was a dream east germans could enjoy only after the fall of the wall today they travel more often to the west than western germans to the east asked about travel to the east or west since 1909 the people of western germany say they rarely go to the eastern part of the country by contrast eastern germans travel 4 times as often to western germany 30 years on despite differences in culture and perceptions people from the former east and west say they still feel they are all simply germans. you of course have special coverage and reports on the events that led up to the fall of the berlin wall 30 years ago and we'll have live coverage of the main ceremonies in commemorations on saturday november 9th u.s. secretary of state mike pompei oh is in germany for a visit time to coincide with celebrations to mark that anniversary but he also came to address disagreements over current political and military alliances. the u.s. secretary of state had come to berlin with china and russia on his min

the east bloc. would come down economically and ecological the end and the political situation burst and you said it started in the seventy's that the wall actually fell in 1909 so how did you channel this discontent in eastern germany in the zia. by retiring into private life. and i did my work at the institute for experimental work and later on this here reticle worked with computers there was a profession and then we had family life were very young and this was very much in private in the shell of a of a. of isolation and. active isolation from from the great of from the communists of roundings and so but that changed in 1989 because you took pot in the biggest protests that essentially had feed on alexanderplatz 5 days before the warfare you spoke to tell us what was it like. i felt awkward then and there and. when you address a crowd of 500000 people and you hear every word you say dozen times coming back from from overwhelming loudspeakers and you didn't know whether to to speak more slowly or

were killed by communist guards te they tried to breach the wall, erd in 1961 by the soviet-led easte blocprotect their ideology from western values. alexandra hildebrandt runs the hichkpoint charlie museum, honors the courage of people like this czech family who crossed the iron curtain in a homemade hang glider. >> t wish of the people to b free is stronger than all the walls in the world. >> reporter: fmer soviet president mikail gorbachev was a lyst for change, with his policies of perestroika, meaning listen, and glasnost, meaning openness. in the autumn of 1989, gorbachev visited east germany and urged its hardline leaders to reform. anti-government demonstrations intensified, offering hope to east german historian stefan wolle, frustrated by his inability to travel outside the communist bloc. >> ( translated ): in the autumn of '89, we first of all wanted freedom, and the fall of the stll was a surprise that took place faer than most of us had s pected. >> my heart ating faster and i thought, "is this true? is is madness." >> reporter: oliver berlau became a historyagaker 30 years a

western part was part of democratic west germany the east the poppy going to communist east germany. eastern bloc countries weren't free either the soviet union had forcibly and it's the baltic states. and. by the late 1980 s. opposition to the soviet occupation was growing. better known as sam and his band. for lithuanian independence and they were in berlin when the. peak was broken his was a symbol. is was a symbol for the us we can do it to. the fix was founded in 1987 the lyrics of the songs often criticized the soviet occupation taking artistic liberties they didn't actually have. made illegal. you need. to be. ok. you know. you must to go to the soviet army. had to interrupt getting his degree and served for 2 years in the soviet army by the time he returned to lithuania the restructuring known as perestroika. people enjoyed more freedom in 1908 the music festival was held in the palace of concerts and. performed here. the fall of the berlin wall strengthened the fight for independence in the baltic states of estonia latvia and lithuania this struggle came to be known as the singing revolu

east germany. other eastern bloc countries. the soviet union had the baltic states. by the late 1980 s. opposition to the soviet occupation was growing. and his band. for independence and they were in berlin when the war. is was a symbol. is was a symbol for the us. to. the pics was founded in 1987 the lyrics of the songs criticized the soviet occupation taking artistic liberties they didn't actually have. made illegal. you need. to be. ok. you must. me. getting his degree and served for 2 years in the soviet army by the time he returned to lithuania the restructuring. people enjoyed more freedom in 1908 the music festival was held in the palace of concerts and. performed here. the fall of the berlin wall strengthened the fight for independence in the baltic states of estonia latvia and lithuania this struggle came to be known as the singing revolution at the lithuanian parliament barricade and the museum. reminders of that critical era. in 1990. the following january the soviets sent in troops they seized this press house for instance 14 civilians were killed. when russian troops is co

china trade war likely to dominate day 2 of the sea and summit in bangkok members of the south east asian bloc are hoping to finalize a major free trade agreement. tens of thousands of iraqis have joined another mass protest in what's now the largest uprising since the fall of the former leader saddam hussein in 2003 this was the scene in central baghdad where antigovernment demonstrators rallied in the areas. square that angry about economic hardship corruption and what they call interference from iran and the u.s. more than $250.00 people have been killed since the protests began last month. those people who are protesting there only demand the fall of the government and the parliament now look at the they're not going to just say it's already took is not enough for them they also want to take more from us we want to blog this post in order to get. now the people want the fall of the government for the government to resign they're asking for a change we want to new government to give us our rights and be fair with us we don't trust them now because there are no reforms for iraq he says. as i

east germany was integrated into the system of eastern bloc states and so it was dependent on developments there. and not until the 980 s. was the development such that a little bit of an opening was possible. but of course it was the east german citizens who took the decisive steps towards toppling the wall here. how do you teach such a complex subject to someone who has no connection with berlin who perhaps comes from south america or asia and then learns about the wall here yeah. for one we do it through the historical sites we talk very specifically about what happened on down there are shasta so it's very clear that the burning will split the street into 2 parts so one side of the street belong to east berlin and the other side to west berlin. everything that made up the cold war in general was condensed here. because i've had it thank you so much my pleasure thank you. i press on toward the city center following the reverse here behind what's now the government quarter the river mark the border between east and west until 989. but it was. and it just as closely as elsewhere is these

who tried to escape was arrested or shot that meant east germans freedom of movement was severely restricted and largely limited to other eastern bloc countries so after the wall fell close to a fire bush travelled the world and made his hobby his profession the train physicist became a photographer and published books of his photos. doesn't this year my as i was saying then i never believed i'd see all of that but i was convinced that something would happen at some point and i always said they can't penicillin forever that it. was from my niece germany from my childhood onwards it was self evident as there was a wall and that band wherever you went south east west or even to the coast at some point you could go no further the idea of leaving and going to the west was not an unusual one for east germans but doing so had serious consequences. at this point i would have thought that my mother wouldn't be able to visit me regularly was so painful that i didn't perceive the idea further and help but didn't find which my thoughts were for for even after the berlin wall fell it became his main subject help us work them all out i tried to

tonight, it symbolizes something else, the failure of an east german government to resist the wave of change over soviet blocations and the sound new freedom, the chipping away of the wall itself. wall back in the berlin gallery at the museum in washington, d.c. we welcome hope harrison, the author of the book "after the berlin wall, memories in the making of the new germany, 1989 to present." hope harrison, on the first page, you note the history and meaning of the berlin wall remains controversial today in germany. why is that? guest: the big lessons of the wall, what it really was, some of the former leaders were still around and were vocal,

with an iron curtain dividing europe bulgaria was part of the eastern socialist bloc it was also a magnet for tourists from east and west alike who were drawn to black sea coastal resorts. it became a place where germans from both sides of the wall could meet. you can see who was a citizen of the german democratic republic the g.d.r. in september 1988 he and a friend flew off to bulgaria from. amman. it was our 1st time on a plane and we were hoping to have a nice holiday here in bulgaria at the cease. side. as well for me so it was really satisfying for me to go on a trip abroad for the 1st time. so until then i'd only been allowed to go on holiday in the g.d.r. . it was really a feeling of joy leaving the country for the 1st time. also to come. at the time anybody who wanted to travel outside the g.d.r. had to be quest official permission it was a lengthy procedure one that you're going to take had also gone through. the flight to bulgaria took 3 hours his greatest adventure had begun he was $24.00. this is the forms. he arrived in borg was. the terminal was bustling back then today it's been abandoned time s

tonight, it symbolizes something else, the failure of an east german government to resist the wave of change over soviet bloc nations and the sound new freedom, the chipping away of the wall itself. wall back in the berlin gallery at the museum in washington, d.c. we welcome hope harrison, the author of the book "after the berlin wall, memories in the making of the new germany, 1989 to present." hope harrison, on the first page, you note the history and meaning of the berlin wall remains controversial today in germany. why is that? guest: the big lessons of the wall, what it really was, some of the former leaders were still around and were vocal, one emphasized it was a piece border, doing what they needed to do, what any sovereign state could do. people who were family members of people who were killed at the wall have a very different view on the legitimacy of the wall and see it as a terrible, violent thing. what are your thoughts on how germany is marking the anniversary today? is this a day of celebration in germany, a day of remembrance, what is your view, looking at what happened so far this weekend w

bloc there. just be careful as you are headed over into the east bay.o san jose s live look at 87. things are nice and clear. everyone is moving. and also want to bring you now to an issue we've been following in san jose, that has not cleared up quite yet, a two-car crash on northbound 101 before northbound 880, the slow lane is still blocked. the slowdown extended a ways back. it's about six miles back right now. reggie and kumasi? >> thanks. >>> happening today, one of the people arrested in connection with the mass shooting on halloween in orinda will appear in court. >> amy hollyfield is live in martinez with more. >> that arrangement is set for martinez. 29-year-old domico dones is facing two felony gun charges. a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. he also has a prior felony conviction for second degree robbery in santa clara county. the atf tweeted pictures of the team that made arrests last week. two men were arrested. officials say that the investigation is sensitive so they won't release more information about how they're connect