FAQ / World Freedom Day

World Freedom Day is a United States federal observance to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall. It started in 2001 and is celebrated every November 9.

The Berlin Wall was a barrier separating West Berlin from East Berlin in what was then East Germany. The Wall became a symbol of the Cold War, as people were killed trying to escape communist-controlled East Germany.

In 1989, after weeks of massive protests and civil unrest in not just East Germany but other countries of the Soviet Bloc, the East German government announced on November 9, 1989, that entering West Berlin would be permitted. Crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall. Over the next few weeks, the public chipped parts of the wall away until it was dismantled by the government. Less than a year later East and West Germany were reunified into the Federal Republic of Germany.