The UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton joined Merkel and Gorbachev at the Brandenburg Gate, a key crossing point and “ground zero” of the former division of Berlin. The Berlin Wall ceased dividing Berlin on 9 November 1989 when Berliners streamed across the dividing line as East German guards stopped barring their crossing. The effective end of the division of Berlin became a crucial moment in the collapse of communism and Soviet domination of Central and Eastern Europe. During the commemorations, Merkel lauded Gorbachev’s role, saying, “You made this possible - you courageously let things happen.” There were also memorials for the 136 people killed trying to cross the border and 1,000 giant dominoes fell in symbolic recognition of the collapse of the wall.

Read more at the AP, the BBC and the New York Times

Read The Daily Maverick story: The Day The Wall came tumbling down

For more on the initial reluctance of many nations to contemplate, let alone support, a newly unified Germany, read more at the New York Times

WATCH: Bush and Gorbachev: The Berlin Wall interviews - 06 Nov 09

Photo: Giant domino pieces installed along a stretch of the Berlin Wall's original path are seen at Brandenburg Gate during celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall in Berlin November 9, 2009. Reuters/Wolfgang Rattay