Eastern courage hailed at Wall anniversary

Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed the courage of easterners who helped bring down the Berlin Wall as the city celebrated the 20th anniversary of the events that marked the end of the Cold War and the beginning of a reunited Germany.

The first chancellor to have grown up in communist east Germany, Mrs Merkel is hosting dozens of world leaders, past and present, to remember the fall of the Wall.

"The night of November 9, 1989, was the fulfilment of a dream," Mrs Merkel said. "Many played a role. But it would not have been possible without the courage of the people in the former East Germany." Mrs Merkel took a walk with former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and former Polish leader Lech Walesa across the bridge at Bornholmer Strasse where East Berliners first breached the border two decades ago in an emotional rush to freedom.

"You made this all possible," Mrs Merkel said to Mr Gorbachev, who refused to order a crackdown. "You courageously let the things happen. That was much more than we could have expected."

Later yesterday, 1,000 brightly coloured dominoes set up along a 1.5 kilometre stretch where the Wall once stood were toppled as world leaders watched from the Brandenburg Gate, once a symbol of division and now the signature image of a reunited Germany.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - representing the World War II allies - were all in town to give speeches.

In pre-released excerpts of his remarks, Mr Brown hailed the "unbreakable spirit" of men and women who dared to "dream in the darkness".

Mr Sarkozy put a picture of himself on social networking site Facebook that he said showed him hammering away at the Wall on the fateful night.