18 stunning photos from the night the Berlin Wall came down, 26 years ago
East German soldiers act as a barricade, blocking West Berliners waiting to welcome East Berlin citizens at the Allied guardhouse "Checkpoint Charlie" on November 9, 1989.
When the clock struck midnight, all the checkpoints along the wall were forced to open.
Berliners carried hammers and chisels to begin chipping away at the wall.
Both East and West German citizens celebrated as they climbed the wall at the Brandenburg Gate.
While in the past those trying to cross the border would resort to digging tunnels, leaping out of buildings that lined the border, or attempting to drive through, on November 9, West German citizens climbed freely atop the Berlin Wall.
East Germans celebrated as they climbed the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate
West Germans applauded as East Berlin citizens traveled through Checkpoint Charlie on the following day, November 10.
There was plenty of celebration as West Berlin citizens welcomed East Germans as they passed the border checkpoint.
West Berlin citizens continued to stand atop the Berlin Wall, here, at Brandenburg Gate, on November 10.
Looking out onto a sea of thousands, East Berlin border guards stood atop the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate on November 11.
By November 12, it was no longer only small hammers being used to deconstruct the wall. Here, an East German bulldozer and crane knock down the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz.
East Berliners cross and meet West Berliners at Potsdamer Platz after the Berlin Wall was torn down at this checkpoint on November 12. Over 2 million people from East Berlin visited West Berlin just that weekend.
Parts of the Berlin Wall were loaded onto trucks at Potsdam Platz by November 14.
Thousands walked along the Berlin Wall between Potsdamer Platz and Brandenburg Gate on November 18.
Even days later, citizens wanted to participate in the destruction — here, a young West German girl hammers the Berlin Wall on November 19.
Another section of the Berlin Wall was dismantled by East Germany near the Brandenburg Gate on December 22.
This flag, reading "Unity," was waved high as these Germans crossed the newly opened border on December 22.
Into the following year, in 1990, citizens still wanted their own piece of the Berlin Wall. Here, a man hammers away at Checkpoint Charlie on June 2, 1990.
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