The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 heralded the end of the decades-long division of Berlin and Germany. (archive picture)
© dpa
To mark the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, Berlin plans to organize an annual "Freedom Week".
A varied program of conferences, workshops and concerts is planned for the launch this autumn, as announced by Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU).
Guests from all over the world are expected to attend, not least from autocratically governed countries. The Freedom Week program also includes exhibitions, plays, city tours and discussions with contemporary witnesses. "Berlin is the city of freedom," explained Wegner at the presentation of the project. On the 36th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the city once again wanted to send out a strong signal for freedom, peace and democracy.
"With the first Berlin Freedom Week, the city will become an international forum for people who fight for freedom, who are immensely courageous and who fight for their vision of a free and democratic world." Numerous partners are involved in the project, including the Robert Havemann Society, the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation, the World Liberty Congress and the Berlin Commissioner for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship, Frank Ebert. The patron is Head of Government Wegner.