Former East German Communist official who accidentally revealed that GDR citizens would be free to travel to west dies
Günther Schabowski, the former senior East German Communist official who accidentally announced the opening of the Berlin Wall, has died aged 86, German media have reported.
At an otherwise dull news conference on 9 November 1989, Schabowski, a member of the Soviet bloc state’s ruling Politburo, was asked by a journalist about current travel rules.
Pressure had been building on the East German government for months to grant its citizens the freedom to travel to the west and a clearly underprepared Schabowski stunned the journalists present with his answer.
He haltingly said: “Therefore we have decided today to implement a regulation that allows every citizen of the German Democratic Republic to leave East Germany through any of the border crossings.”
He was then asked when the new rule would take effect. “According to my information ... immediately, without delay,” he said, shuffling through the papers spread in front of him as he searched in vain for clarifying information.
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/01/gunther-schabowski-dies-berlin-wall-east-german-communist
