Germany has kicked off celebrations marking 25 years since the epochal fall of the Berlin Wall, set to culminate in rock stars and freedom icons joining millions at an open-air party.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, is leading three days of commemorations for those killed trying to flee the repressive state, ahead of a giant festival Sunday marking the joyous breach of Europe's Cold War division on November 9, 1989.
"I think you never forget how you felt that day -- at least I will never forget it," Merkel, 60, said in her latest podcast.
"I had to wait 35 years for that feeling of liberty. It changed my life."
The festivities under the banner "Courage for Freedom" recall the peaceful revolution that led communist authorities to finally open the border after 28 years in which Easterners were prisoners of their own government.
Germany would reunite within the year, on October 3, 1990.
The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, whose "perestroika" and "glasnost" reforms helped pave the way for the Wall's fall, on Friday greeted crowds at Berlin's iconic former Checkpoint Charlie border crossing.
US President Barack Obama told the world to remember lessons from the emotional fall of the Berlin Wall.
"I will never forget the scenes of East Berliners courageously taking to the streets, pushing past the guards and tearing down the wall that for so long had separated them from family and friends and the free world," Obama said in a statement.
"As Russia's actions against Ukraine remind us, we have more work to do to fully realize our shared vision of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace," he added.
Relations between Russia and the United States are at their iciest since the end of the Cold War after Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in March.
'Proud I could contribute'
Gorbachev, 83, who is revered in Berlin for having refrained from a bloody crackdown on protesters in 1989, understated his own role in history, saying: "I am proud I could contribute a little bit to the fact that we live like this today".
But the Nobel Prize winner also warned of new East-West tensions sparked by the Ukraine crisis, saying both sides must "get a grip on the tensions that have emerged recently".
On Saturday, Gorbachev will join former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher for a debate about the legacy of 1989, and the resurgence of tensions between Russia and the West.
Berlin has set up an ambitious installation featuring nearly 7,000 white balloons pegged to the ground along a 15-kilometre (nine-mile) stretch of the Wall's former 155-kilometre path.
The glowing orbs, which from above look like a string of pearls, are to be released Sunday and set to float into the night sky, to the stirring strains of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy".
Despite the party mood, old tensions resurfaced earlier Friday when dissident singer Wolf Biermann, who was kicked out of East Germany in 1976, performed his protest song "Ermutigung" (Encouragement) in parliament, in a tribute to those who resisted the regime.
He used the opportunity to take a swipe at the far-left Linke, which has roots in East Germany's ruling party and had criticised Biermann's invitation to appear at the session.
"Your punishment is to have to listen to me here -- enjoy," he told heckling Linke deputies, calling them "the wretched remains of what has fortunately been surmounted".
Freedom icons
Merkel will on Saturday attend a memorial concert at Bertolt Brecht's historic Berliner Ensemble theatre opposite the former "Palace of Tears", where Easterners said goodbye to visitors returning to West Germany.
And on Sunday she will open a major exhibition on Bernauer Strasse, a street divided by the Wall that saw harrowing scenes of families ripped apart overnight when the Wall went up in 1961.
Following a ceremony at the elegant Gendarmenmarkt square, at least two million people are expected to gather at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity.
There, Gorbachev and former Polish president and freedom icon Lech Walesa, 71, will join German head of state Joachim Gauck, 74, a former pastor and rights activist in the East, and Hungarian ex-premier Miklos Nemeth, 66.
Entertainment will range from the Berlin State Orchestra to a fireworks display.
British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel will perform the Wall anthem "Heroes", which David Bowie recorded when he lived in what was then West Berlin.
East Germany built the Wall, which it called an "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart", in August 1961 to halt a mass exodus to the West.
On November 9, 1989, East German border guards, overwhelmed by large crowds, threw open the gates to West Berlin, allowing free passage for the first time since it was built.
At least 389 people lost their lives trying to escape East Germany, according to an official toll, although victims groups put the figure much higher.
AFP
Sat Nov 08 2014
People walk past the light installation Lichtgrenze (Light border) on the course of the former Berlin wall in Berlin on Nov 7, 2014. - AFP Photo/Odd Andersen
Bantuan kemanusiaan Arab Saudi di Gaza terjejas akibat penutupan Rafah
Makanan yang ada di dalam ratusan trak yang menunggu memasuki Gaza dan disimpan di gudang dijangka mendekati tempoh tamat.
Sheikh Al-Azhar tamatkan lawatan khas di Malaysia
Sheikh Al-Azhar hari ini menamatkan lawatan khas empat hari ke Malaysia atas undangan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Prof Said Bani individu pertama dari Malaysia raih anugerah ‘Communicator of The Year’ IABC Asia Pasifik
Bani catat sejarah pengamal komunikasi pertama Malaysia terima anugerah 'Communicator of The Year' IABC Asia Pasifik dalam kategori Senior Communication Professional.
Analisis pasaran saham separuh tahun kedua 2024
Apakah rumusan prestasi pasaran saham pada separuh tahun pertama 2024 dan apakah faktor-faktor yang akan menjadi perhatian pelabur dalam pasaran saham separuh tahun kedua 2024? Kupasan lanjut bersama Ketua, MIDF Research, Imran Yassin Md Yusof.
63 PATI pelbagai warganegara di Perak dihantar pulang ke negara asal
Kesemua PATI itu terdiri daripada warganegara Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India dan Indonesia.
Malaysia Digital (MD): Advancing Malaysia’s Digital Future
Explore the impact of the recent MD Open Day event and its key insights. Discover how it aligns with Malaysia’s growth strategy and benefits both businesses and the public. Join us for an exclusive live interview with Ts Mahadhir Aziz, CEO of MDEC, on Niaga AWANI.
Akta Audit: Tingkat ketelusan & kecekapan tadbir urus
Dewan Rakyat pada Rabu meluluskan RUU Audit (Pindaan) 2024 yang bertujuan meluaskan kuasa Ketua Audit Negara bagi memeriksa, menyiasat dan mengaudit akaun mana-mana badan lain. Adakah ini memadai? Apa lagi tambah baik yang perlu dilakukan?
Laporan PAC: Levi majikan hanya digunakan untuk latihan kemahiran - PSMB
PSMB menegaskan bahawa levi majikan sememangnya hanya digunakan untuk tujuan latihan pekerja mereka sahaja selama ini.
Lebih 20 subkontraktor Lebuhraya DASH lantik peguam tuntut bayaran tertunggak RM100 juta dari Prolintas
Menurut Tetuan Thomas Philip, walaupun lebuh raya itu telah dibuka kepada orang ramai, banyak subkontraktor masih tidak dibayar atas kerja mereka.
AWANI Pagi: Berhadapan individu narsistik? Apa perlu saya buat
Bekas Canselor Jerman Angela Merkel terima anugerah tertinggi negara
Merkel memegang jawatan canselor dari 2005 hingga 2021.
Jerman hentikan operasi tiga loji nuklear terakhir
Jerman menghentikan operasi tiga loji tenaga nuklear terakhirnya pada Sabtu sebagai sebahagian daripada peralihan kepada tenaga boleh diperbaharui.
Canselor Jerman: Era pemerintahan Angela Merkel tamat selepas 16 tahun
Olaf Scholz secara rasmi dilantik sebagai Canselor Jerman yang baharu pada Rabu menggantikan Angela Merkel.
COVID-19: Jerman debat isu wajibkan vaksinasi
Pada Ahad, kes jangkitan koronavirus sepanjang tujuh hari lalu di Jerman meningkat ke paras tertinggi sejak wabak itu bermula untuk hari ke-14 berturut-turut.
COVID-19: Jerman bakal kenakan peraturan baharu
Peraturan baharu itu akan dibawa ke Parlimen untuk diluluskan hari ini.
COVID-19: Angela Merkel rayu rakyat Jerman segera dapatkan vaksin
Ini kerana, kata Merkel, kadar jangkitan COVID-19 di negara itu mencecah angka baharu tertinggi dengan bilangan korban turut meningkat.
Sekatan Jerman terhadap minyak sawit berdasarkan kepada maklumat palsu
Sekatan Jerman terhadap minyak sawit adalah berdasarkan kepada maklumat palsu dan secara sengaja tidak merujuk kepada fakta alam sekitar.
Parti Canselor Angela Merkel mula kempen pilihan raya secara rasmi
Parti Kristian Demokrat (CDU) yang kini dipimpin Armin Laschet berharap dapat terus mentadbir negara selepas Merkel umum mahu mengundur diri.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Jerman bakal kenakan caj ujian COVID-19 kepada yang enggan terima vaksin
Tiada lagi ujian saringan COVID-19 percuma untuk golongan yang enggan menerima vaksin, kata Canselor Angela Merkel pada Selasa.