Als die Mauer fiel - 50 Stunden die die Welt veranderten

On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. In this film, the occurrences that led to this historic event are reconstructed from hour to hour. From interviews with the key figures of this period - Egon Krenz, Helmut Kohl, Gunther Schabowski, Hans Modrow, Walter Momper, George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev - it gradually becomes clear that the collapse of the wall was the consequence of a misunderstanding among East-German politicians. In an attempt to find a way to push back the increasing emigration from the GDR, a new law was drawn up, that further restricted free travel to the West. The news of the motion was divulged prematurely and too vaguely during a press conference, but it was too late to revoke it. A storm of events subsequently led to the images that are indelibly stamped on our memories: frenzied crowds at the border crossings and on top of the Wall.