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    Breaking down boundaries: Google celebrates 30th anniversary of fall of Berlin Wall with special doodle

    Synopsis

    "Tor auf!" roared the crowds gathered at the Berlin Wall on this evening in 1989.

    30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall fall: Google celebrates with a special doodle
    NEW DELHI: Google has managed to capture the essence of breaking down of boundaries that separated many families with a special doodle on the 30th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall on Saturday.

    The doodle was created by a Berlin-based guest artist, illustrator and animator - Max Guther. It shows a man and woman embracing each other over the fallen wall. The search engine-giant called this moment a peaceful revolution that signalled the simultaneous end of the Cold War and the beginning of reunification of East and West Germany.

    In 1989, "Tor auf!" (Open the gate!) roared the crowds gathered at the Berlin Wall on this evening.

    Winds of change were blowing across Europe, the then-new leadership in Russia, Poland, and Hungary were hopeful of ending 28-year long, strict travel restrictions in East Germany. The website said that "an official spokesman’s hasty statement gave reporters and TV viewers the mistaken impression that East Germany would be allowing free travel between East and West Berlin during a government press conference".

    "Within hours, a massive crowd gathered at the wall, far outnumbering the border crossing guards. Sometime before midnight, the officer-in-charge of the Bornholmer Street checkpoint defied his superiors and gave the order to open the gate," Google said.

    Word spread quickly, and over the next few days, 2 million jubilant Germans crossed the border, some singing, dancing, and toasting the start of a new era while others began physically dismantling the wall.

    ​Google Doodle on 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin WallAgencies
    Google Doodle on 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.


    Guther said he was honoured to have worked on the subject and drew inspiration for the artwork from stories and old photographs of his parents who were in Berlin 30 years ago and witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall, according to Google.

    "I hope that people start fighting border walls all over the world, helping people living in divided or separated countries, and giving refuge to those fleeing their home countries because they have no choice," Max Guther said.

    The Berlin Wall was built on August 13, 1961, dividing the East and West Berlin with a barbed wire and concrete structure. Its demolition led to the reunion of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.

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