On November 9, 1989, the world watched as the Berlin Wall, long a symbol of the stark and dangerous divide between the communist East and democratic West, suddenly and shockingly faded into history. People flocked to border that had divided the city and passed through what had always been the "death strip," and as the world watched on live television, people climbed atop the wall and began to literally chip it away. This German-produced documentary details the events of that momentous night, using interviews with German politicians, ordinary citizens, and international journalists, including NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw, who was on the scene, broadcasting the event to a surprised audience in the United States. Those who attended critical meetings describe how the leaders of East Germany wanted to relax the border to some extent, but wound up relaxing much more than anyone could have expected. West German officials recall hearing that the border was being opened and thinking it just couldn't be possible. The spontaneity of events is dramatically captured in contemporaneous video footage shot on the streets of East Berlin, as news filtered out to the public and people began rushing to the wall. This is a fascinating and intelligent look at a day that came to symbolize enormous changes as the cold war wound down to an end. "--Robert J. McNamara"