Summary
"In The Collapse historian Mary Elise Sarotte shows that the opening of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, was not, as is commonly believed, the East German government's deliberate concession to outside influence. It was an accident. A carelessly worded memo written by mid-level bureaucrats, a bum... Full description
- Discovering the causes of the collapse
- The struggle within the Soviet Bloc and Saxony. A brutal status quo ; Marginal to massive ; The fight for the ring
- The competition for control in East Berlin. The Revolution advances, the regime plays for time ; Failure to communicate on November 9, 1989
- The contest of wills at the Wall. The Revolution, televised ; Damage control? ; Violence and victory, trust and triumphalism.