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Germany marks anniversary of fall of Berlin Wall Berlin Wall: Angela Merkel hails fall as 'dream come true'
(about 2 hours later)
Celebrations are being held in Germany to mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The fall of the Berlin Wall has shown the world that dreams can come true and "nothing has to stay as it is", German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a service for victims of the communist East German regime, and will go to a huge party at the Brandenburg Gate. Speaking 25 years after the event, Mrs Merkel said the message for those in countries where rights were threatened was that things could get better.
White balloons marking a stretch of the wall will be released to symbolise its disappearance. Earlier she attended a service for the former East German regime's victims.
The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to stop people fleeing from East Germany to the West. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to stop people fleeing from communist East Germany to the West.
Its fall in 1989 became a powerful symbol of the end of the Cold War.Its fall in 1989 became a powerful symbol of the end of the Cold War.
Later in the day white balloons marking a stretch of the wall will be released to symbolise its disappearance.
'Easy to forget'
The day's events began with a brass band playing, evoking the trumpets which brought down the walls of the biblical city of Jericho.The day's events began with a brass band playing, evoking the trumpets which brought down the walls of the biblical city of Jericho.
Chancellor Merkel and other officials laid roses in one of the remaining sections of the wall. Chancellor Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, and other officials laid roses in one of the remaining sections of the wall.
While chatting to crowds afterwards, she said it was important to think about all those who suffered because of the Wall, not only in Germany but throughout Eastern Europe. Speaking at the opening of a new information centre about the Wall, Mrs Merkel said it was easy to forget what had happened and it was important to remember it.
Ms Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, will be joined later by former Polish trade union leader and president Lech Walesa and Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader. "We can change things for the better," she said. "This is the message for... Ukraine, Iraq and other places where human rights are threatened.
"The fall of the Wall showed us that dreams can come true. Nothing has to stay as it is."
Ms Merkel will be joined later by former Polish trade union leader and president Lech Walesa and Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader.
At the scene: Jenny Hill, BBC News
It's a bitterly cold grey day in Berlin. This morning hundreds of people stood shivering next to one of the few remaining sections of the wall. From a big screen above them Angela Merkel could be seen at a commemorative church service. Later the crowds here will celebrate. But for now the mood is sombre. This wall, after all, dominated Berlin, part of a border which split a country in half. And scores of people died trying to cross it to escape communist East Germany.
One man had tears in his eyes as he told me he was born in East Berlin. People must never forget what the wall represented, he said.
As Angela Merkel left church the crowds surged towards her. Speaking to some of them the chancellor said it was important to remember all those who suffered because of the wall, not just in Germany but across Eastern Europe
Freedom is a concept much valued by Angela Merkel. No wonder, perhaps, given that the German chancellor grew up in the East. She was in her 30s - working as a physicist - when the wall came down.
The wall stretched for 155km (96 miles) through Berlin but today only about three kilometres of it still stands.The wall stretched for 155km (96 miles) through Berlin but today only about three kilometres of it still stands.
Within a year of its collapse, Germany - divided after its defeat in World War Two - was reunited.Within a year of its collapse, Germany - divided after its defeat in World War Two - was reunited.
More than a million visitors have descended on Berlin for the weekend of festivities that will culminate later on Sunday at the Brandenburg Gate.More than a million visitors have descended on Berlin for the weekend of festivities that will culminate later on Sunday at the Brandenburg Gate.
The monument itself was inaccessible during the partition of Germany and is seen as a symbol of the country's reunification.
On Saturday, people posed for photos in front of the few remaining graffiti-daubed slabs of the wall, or read information boards about life under Berlin's 28-year division.
Others admired the art installation of almost 7,000 white balloons, pegged to the ground and winding along a 15km (nine miles) stretch of the wall's route.
At the bustling Potsdamer Platz, which was once cut in two by the wall, a small crowd watched archive footage of East German demonstrators chanting: "We are the people."
Striking a more sombre note, Mr Gorbachev, 83, warned on Saturday that the world was on the brink of a new Cold War.Striking a more sombre note, Mr Gorbachev, 83, warned on Saturday that the world was on the brink of a new Cold War.
Tensions between the West and Russia have been raised by the crisis in Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union.Tensions between the West and Russia have been raised by the crisis in Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union.
"Bloodshed in Europe and the Middle East against the backdrop of a breakdown in dialogue between the major powers is of enormous concern," he said."Bloodshed in Europe and the Middle East against the backdrop of a breakdown in dialogue between the major powers is of enormous concern," he said.
"The world is on the brink of a new Cold War. Some are even saying that it's already begun.""The world is on the brink of a new Cold War. Some are even saying that it's already begun."
Mr Gorbachev said that the West - in particular the US - had succumbed to "triumphalism" after the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
For this reason the global powers had been unable to cope with conflicts in Yugoslavia, the Middle East and now Ukraine, he added.
Mr Gorbachev, as leader of the USSR in the late 1980s, is credited with rapprochement with the West and creating a more liberal atmosphere which led to the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989.Mr Gorbachev, as leader of the USSR in the late 1980s, is credited with rapprochement with the West and creating a more liberal atmosphere which led to the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989.
Russia has denied fomenting trouble in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russia separatists seized control in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in April.
More than 4,000 people have died in the fighting.
A fragile ceasefire has been in place since September, but elections in rebel-held areas last weekend have prompted fears of a return to full-scale conflict.