1989: Escaping the GDR via Prague | History Stories

Video Description

In the late-summer of 1989, the West German embassy in Prague became a place of refuge for thousands of GDR citizens willing to leave the country. By the end of September more than 4,000 people lived on the premises of the completely overcrowded embassy under catastrophic conditions. With a humanitarian catastrophy looming, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, then Germany's foreign minister, tried to find a diplomatic solution with the GDR and the Soviet Union. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York he negotiated a quick compromise and surprisingly, the leadership in East Berlin agreed to let the people leave. On the evening of September 30 1989, Genscher himself delivered the news from the embassy balcony. His words "We have come to you to inform you that your departure..." was drowned out by the cheers of thousands of GDR refugees and made headlines around the world. On this episode of History stories, we look at Genscher's successful negotiation which led to a major milestone on the way to the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Report by Antje Binder ©Thumbnail: Picture-Alliance/FrankLionhardt #dwhistoryandculture #history #coldwar #germany For more visit: https://www.dw.com/en/culture/s-1441 ⮞ Follow DW Culture on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dw.culture ⮞ Follow DW Culture on Twitter: twitter.com/DW_Culture Please follow DW's netiquette: https://p.dw.com/p/MF1G