“The leaflet that brought down the Berlin Wall” is the subject of a dispute between the Bonn Museum and Bild – Corriere.it

Berlin – There is a piece of paper that has a magical and unforgettable role in modern German history. Notes written in pencil on thin A4 lined paper. Günter Schabowski, leader of the Communist Party (SED), took it by the hand on the evening of November 9, 1989 when, in a disastrous press conference, he inadvertently caused the floodgates to open and the Berlin Wall to fall. A fierce battle has broken out over that note – now kept in the House of History in Bonn – which may also have repercussions for the museums' other bequests.

The story is part of Berlin's mythology and its hero is Italian. It was almost at the end of the press conference that was broadcast live on televisionhandle Ricardo Ermann asked Schabowski if there was any news regarding GDR citizens traveling to the West. Schabowski, who had received papers containing the party's latest decisions without reading or comprehending them, He looked at the documents and said they could leave “without restrictions.”. How long had it been, Ehrman asked, and Schabowski said, examining papers that did not seem to contain an answer, “That's why it's so comfortable…it's safe to use itto”, As far as I know, it is immediately, immediately. (This created terrible confusion: the provisions did not apply to everyone, but only to a few holders of visa passports; they were due to come into force from 4 a.m.).

Queues immediately formed at the crossings until the Bornholmer Straße crossing opened. For this question, Ehrman became “the man who brought down the Berlin Wall.”

The piece of paper disappeared and reappeared in 2015 at the Bonn Museum, which bought it for 25,000 euros from an unknown seller. but there Bild He wants to know his name. HHe sued the museum and won twice, this is the third appeal in Münster. But director Harald Berman refuses to submit to the ruling. “If we make the name public,” he says. Süddeutsche Zeitung -It would be a disaster. “No one would show his paintings to museums anymore if his identity had to be known.” That's not enough. Chabowski's Russian widow, Irina, is also claiming the paper as part of her inheritance.

There is another complication. German journalist Peter Brinkmann (who participated in the dialogue between Ehrmann and Schabowski and therefore uses the title The second man who brought down the wall) has a different version. He was a good friend of Schabowski. According to him, the leader of the Social Democratic Party wrote that paper, but later in the evening. Once home, Schabowski says, Brinkman opened a bottle of beer, and watched on Western television with his wife what was happening without relating it to the press conference. Then, in fear, he prepared that memorandum, justifying and proving that everything he said had been agreed upon with the leaders. Therefore, it would be fraudulent. But this does not spoil the myths and results, as no one believes Brinkman's story.