BERLIN (AFP) - Germany marked the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with fond memories of that day`s euphoric celebrations and mounting frustration over the enduring divisions between East and West.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder paid tribute to the peaceful revolution against the communist regime that culminated in the destruction of the despised Wall that cleaved Berlin in two for 28 years.
"November 9 is a day marking the triumph of freedom and democracy. The people of East Germany broke down the Wall 15 years ago and conquered a cynical dictatorship," Schroeder said in a statement.
Schroeder noted, however, that painful economic and social divisions between the former communist east and the more prosperous west still undermined German unity.
"To reach this goal, we will need to pursue a truly national effort," he said.
"This day is a warning to fight against inhumanity, an obligation for civil courage and a call to complete the unification of our country."
Communist authorities ordered the closure of the borders in August 1961 to halt a mass exodus of their citizens to the West.
Officers with shoot-to-kill orders kept watch at the 155-kilometer (96-mile) Wall between East and West Berlin and the 1,400-kilometer-long border between East and West Germany.
At least 250 would-be refugees were killed in a desperate dash to freedom in the West, according to official figures. Victims` groups say the figure is much higher.
The collapse of the Wall in November 1989 paved the way to Germany`s reunification the following October, ending four decades of national division.
But 15 years on, the east is plagued by 18 percent unemployment, substandard infrastructure in many areas and the flight of young jobseekers to the west.
Meanwhile, the enormous cost of reunification -- 1.25 trillion euros (1.61 trillion dollars) in public funds have been invested in the east since 1990 -- have left many westerners bitter over the sacrifices they have been asked to make.
Parliamentary speaker Wolfgang Thierse, who is from east Berlin, said it was normal that the 40 years of national division after World War II would leave scars.
"But I am optimistic that the prejudices will disappear when economic conditions approve," he said.
Thierse noted that because Germans had rushed to knock down the hated Wall, there were precious few slabs left to remind citizens -- and tourists -- of the country`s divided past. He called for a red line to be painted along the route to serve as an enduring symbol and warning to future generations.
At the main annual memorial ceremony, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit, Culture Minister Christina Weiss and conservative opposition leader Angela Merkel laid wreaths at a former border crossing point at Bernauerstrasse amid a steady drizzle.
"It is wonderful (the Wall fell) -- it was a disaster," said Gerda Huebel, 70, who lives just a stone`s throw from what was the Western side of the border.
"But 15 years on, we`ve had a hard time uniting -- it just isn`t working."
The Gethsemane Church in east Berlin, a key meeting point for democracy demonstrators before the Wall fell, was to hold a "Concert for Freedom and Democracy" while former chancellor Helmut Kohl is to engage in a public debate with east German freedom activist Baerbel Bohley later Tuesday.
And former Hungarian prime minister Gyula Horn was to address the legislature of the eastern state of Saxony.
Horn helped set the Wall`s fall in motion by allowing hundreds of East German refugees in Hungary to escape to the West in September 1989.
The move opened the floodgates that forced East German authorities to announce that the freedom of travel that had been denied to citizens for nearly three decades would now be respected.
In a touch of symbolism, what is expected to be the final verdict in a trial of former East German border officers is due later Monday.
The four defendants are accused of responsibility in the deaths of four young men killed while trying to escape over the Wall in 1977.
11/09/2004 - 12:26 GMT - AFP