Twenty-five years ago, one of the most decisive and unforeseen waves of grassroots revolt in modern history swept through Eastern Europe. First, in Poland, came the triumph of Solidarity, whose stunning electoral success in 1989 was made possible by nationwide strikes the year before. Then, in Hungary, marches in the spring and summer hastened far-reaching negotiations between government and opposition leaders.
Reforms there prompted a mass exodus of East Germans, who began crossing via Hungary into the West. Those who stayed in the German Democratic Republic grew increasingly vocal in their dissent: weekly protests in Leipzig spread to Dresden and East Berlin. On 9 November 1989 authorities with notions of allowing limited passage through the hated Wall found themselves famously overwhelmed by emboldened citizens.
