Soccer Fans Commemorate Fall of Berlin Wall Ahead of Bundesliga Match

Soccer fans commemorated the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall by constructing a symbolic “wall” and then tearing it down before a Bundesliga match on Saturday, November 9, local media reported.

This video shows the display, erected before Saturday’s match between Hertha Berlin and RB Leipzig at Berlin’s Olympiastadion. The video shows someone driving a Trabant — an oft-maligned car that was mass-produced in East Germany up to 1990 — as a line of people knock down a replica wall before kick off.

The Berlin wall, constructed by the German Democratic Republic in 1961, divided Germany’s capital for years until protests and political unrest led to its collapse in 1989. People across the country commemorated the anniversary with a variety of other events on Saturday.

People drove Trabants through Berlin, a show and art installation was held in front of the Brandenburg Gate, and Chancellor Angela Merkel attended a commemorative ceremony to call for “the defense of freedom” that was attained when the wall was demolished. Credit: @Konstanze_MaHe via Storyful