When the Wall Came Tumbling Down: 50 Hours that Changed the World

Erected in 1961, ostensibly to protect the borders of East Germany (EDF) and prevent a brain drain to the west, the Berlin Wall stood as a brutal symbol of the schism between Communist and free market countries. For decades, the wall--a flashpoint in the Cold War--symbolized terror, the division of families, and the government's willingness to use force to repress its citizens while restricting the free flow of travel and ideas. By November 1989, the EDF was in economic collapse and political shambles, and reforms in the Soviet Union and eastern European countries had emboldened the citizens of East Germany to seek similar freedoms. When the Wall Came Tumbling Down combines news footage and recollections of eyewitnesses to reconstruct the meetings, crises, and finally the decisions--leaked almost casually--to allow free travel between east and west, consigning the Berlin wall to oblivion, which began in the early morning hours of November 9th and culminated in wild celebrations that posed a challenge for the governments on both sides of the wall. Unfortunately, what should have been a highly dramatic account of 50 momentous hours…isn't. Perhaps too many years of living in a gray bureaucracy dulled their senses, but the testimony of former East German leaders pales compared to comments from former President Bush, newsman Tom Brokaw, or the man in the street. To make matters worse, the video fails to provide a solid detailed history of the wall, or follow-up of the events that came after the wall's collapse. In depth academic and public library collections may want to add, but this is not the best fare for general viewers and is therefore an optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)