The little-known mistake behind the fall of the Berlin Wall

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The fall of the Berlin Wall was partly due to a bureaucratic mistake. The Berlin Wall stood for 28 years, separating East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Had it not been for a bureaucratic mistake, it might have stood a little longer. Facing mounting pressure, East Germany announced on November 9, 1989, that its citizens could begin visiting the West, though the policy wasn't meant to take immediate effect. Instead, it was supposed to be rolled out gradually and involve a visa application. However, that's not what an unprepared politburo member named Günter Schabowski said when asked at a press conference that evening about the timeline for East Germans to begin their visits — his answer was "immediately, without delay."

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