This Day in History: <br />East Germany <br />Opens the Berlin Wall November 9, 1989 The East German action followed a decision <br />by Hungarian officials a few weeks earlier <br />to open the border between Hungary and Austria. This meant that East Germans <br />could circumvent the Wall by <br />going through Hungary, into<br />Austria and into West Germany. The following day, <br />celebrating Germans <br />began to tear the wall down. One of the ugliest and <br />most infamous symbols of the <br />Cold War was soon reduced to rubble. The decision to open the <br />wall was a reflection of immense <br />political change in East Germany. The destruction of the Berlin Wall <br />was one of the most significant <br />actions leading to the end of the Cold War.
