The fall of 1989

The Berlin Wall crumbled. Regimes toppled.
But 30 years later, how much have things changed?

Thirty years ago, the citizens of Soviet-dominated Central Europe achieved something extraordinary: a wave of peaceful revolution that swept away the system that had exerted near-seamless control over their lives for the previous four decades.

The enormous impact of those events was obvious to everyone who witnessed them. Since then, a generation has passed. The Berlin Wall — and everything it symbolized — is just a memory, and it is tempting to view the events of 1989 as mere history.

That would be a mistake. In fact, that remarkable year has left an enduring imprint on Europe — and the rest of the world. The upheaval of that moment still shapes politics, economies and biographies in ways we don’t normally consider.

We may think we have put 1989 behind us — but its shadow still looms large. Read the full piece at The Washington Post.

The Berlin Wall is just one of the many walls — and their impacts — that we’ll examine further during our W|ALLS: Defend, Divide, and the Divine event. Please join us on December 13 at the Annenberg Space for Photography. For details and ticket information, visit our event page.