WORLD : Key Berlin Gate Might Open
East German troops took up positions near the Brandenburg Gate tonight, raising hopes that the symbolic heart of divided Berlin might be opened as a border crossing point.
The East German news agency ADN denied a West German TV report that the gate would open, and an East German police officer told reporters: “Go away, nothing will happen here yet.”
But East Berlin’s Communist authorities said negotiations were going on, increasing belief on the Western side that the opening was imminent.
The imposing classical arch surmounted by a triumphal chariot has remained closed while East Germany has opened up 22 crossing points to the West since Thursday.
But for millions of Germans on both sides of the border, only the opening of the Brandenburg Gate will prove that the 28-year-old Berlin Wall has crumbled for good.
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