Primary Sources: The 1980s: Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)

"Lieutenant-Colonel Harald Jäger was in charge of the East Berlin checkpoint at Bornholmer Strasse on Nov. 9, 1989, and was the first border guard to allow East Germans to cross over to the West -- without an order from his superiors. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, he describes that historic night.
09.11.2009, 15.48 Uhr"

"Erected literally overnight, the building of the Berlin Wall was the culmination of over a decade of escalating confrontations and contentious blockades contrived to encourage the west to abandon Berlin to the Communist Bloc. The wall was East Germany's ultimate attempt to isolate and destroy an island of freedom. Instead of expelling the west, Berlin became ground zero in a contest of tit-for-tat brinksmanship with a serious risk of erupting into nuclear war. War was averted, but the wall dividing Berlin became a corrosive global symbol of bitter oppression that would last for nearly three decades. Listed below are the documents, essays and overviews from the eleven U.S. Government organizations that provide the background and the political ramifications of the Wall's construction." Central Intelligence Agency

Secret Documents Show Opposition to German Unification

"Documents show accident and contingency, anxiety in world capitals"

"Over 300 primary sources, including government documents, images, videos, and artifacts with introductory notes."
George Mason University

"Nov. 9, 1989: NBC News' Tom Brokaw reports from West Germany hours after the East German government announced that residents would be able to move freely between the countries for the first time in more than 25 years."

"Documents on the history of the Berlin Wall, beginning with the conditions in Berlin and East Germany following WWII and the history of the wall's construction in 1961, and followed by the 1971 Four Power Negotiations on the status of Berlin, and the final tearing down of the Wall in 1989."