David Bowie’s incredible role in fall of Berlin Wall exposed: ‘Germany thanked him!’

Bowie has gone down in history as one of the most influential pop stars of his era, known for persistently reinventing his image and releasing original songs. He created some of his most famous singles while living in West Berlin, and loved his time there. He was subsequently very keen to take part in a gig besides the 10ft Berlin Wall in 1987 during the three-day concert – and he was enthusiastic for it to be broadcast on the radio, too, so that East Berliners could experience the music as well.

BBC journalist Louise Hidalgo spoke on the BBC programme, ‘Witness History’ and recalled how the event has since been credited with leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

She spoke to German journalist Christoph Lanz in November 2019 about Bowie’s impact in particular.

Mr Lanz said: “Rock and pop music has an incredible power and the concert is one of the most powerful examples of that.

“We are talking about freedom here, freedom of expression.”

He worked for the only radio station which was allowed to broadcast the gig at the time, and noted how the sound travelled straight across to East Germany.

Mr Lanz said he heard it was the first time the youth in East Germany “got so sick” of living under authoritarian rule that they “started to shout ‘The wall must go’”.

The 10ft wall divided East and West Berlin for more than 25 years.

The East was controlled by the Soviet Union, while the West was formally controlled by the Western Allies.

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At one point during the concert, Bowie addressed the East Germans.

He said: “Greetings to our friends on the other side of the wall.”

Ms Hidalgo said it “was as if he wanted them to be part of it”.

Bowie also insisted on going to East Berlin the day before the concert.

The BBC journalist pointed out that when Bowie died in 2016, the German government even thanked him for the part he played in reunifying Germany.

Mr Lanz agreed and explained: “There was a tweet from the Foreign Ministry admiring the role he played in the past to the German reunification.

“And I think that’s well deserved.”

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However, Mr Lanz pointed out that this was only the first sign of a stir against the wall.

Although East Berliners clashed with the police in their desperation to see the concert and many were arrested, Mr Lanz explained how at that point, “none of us thought that what happened on November 9, 1989 would happen”.

The reunification of Germany officially happened in 1990, while the wall was officially destroyed in November 1991.

Bowie had lived in West Berlin between 1976 and 1979, prompted by his love of the German music scene.

He shared an apartment with Iggy Pop and developed his ‘Berlin Trilogy’ there.