Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the (Berlin) Wall

My grandmother and my aunt lived inside the Berlin Wall, which surrounded the Western Part of Berlin. Visits were complicated, and my childhood impressions consist of scared parents (What if we get stopped, what if we have a breakdown...?), miles of concrete walls, barbed wires, tanks and armed guards. It was quite intimidating, and would always put a damper on family reunions.

The 9th of November 1989 marked the turning point: free travel had been (prematurely) announced for Eastern German Citizens.
At that time I lived in the Midwest Germany, only a couple of 100km away from the border, and had followed the previous weeks of civil unrest in the Eastern part in the Media. I remember that I was worried and scared for the people, that at one point the Russians and the Eastern German military would simply crack down the peaceful demonstrations, like the Chinese authorities did earlier the year with the student protests in Tiananmen.
Would Western Germany only have watched if that would have happened? How would the Allies have reacted? It felt very much like being on the brink of a third world war.
Thankfully history has proven wrong the war mongers, and a year later Germany became officially peacefully re-unified (unofficially it is actually a work in progress), and well received by the rest of the World (except maybe for Maggie Thatcher). It was followed by times of reorientation, satisfying each other's curiosity and an ongoing learning process, accompanied by an economic boom.
I have a great deal of respect for my fellow country(wo)men who stood up for their beliefs and their desire for freedom, while risking their freedom, health and lives. A day well worth remembering.