President Steinmeier at the Berlin Wall

Yesterday, on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke of the importance of people listening to one another, respecting one another and taking one another seriously.

The Wall opened at approximately 11.30pm at Bornholmer Straße 30 years ago yesterday. 

On another November 9, a black night in German history, this time 1938, the Naxis carried out a pogrom on Jews and their properties across Germany.

Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the joy of 1989 and the horror of 1938. She referred in stark terms to the dangers of racism and fascism.