Contemporary
Reburial of Imre Nagy (1989): Hungary's Turning Point
Nagy and his fellow victims were honoured in a mass public ceremony; Hungary moved within months to multiparty democracy.
Region
Europe
Contemporary
Pan-European Picnic (1989): The Border Opening at Sopron
Several hundred East Germans crossed into Austria; within weeks Hungary opened its border to all East Germans.
Contemporary
Polish Round Table Talks (1989): Negotiating the End of Communism
Solidarity was legalised again and semi-free elections were agreed, leading in August 1989 to the first non-communist-led government in the Soviet bloc.
Contemporary
Monday Demonstrations in Leipzig (1989): East Germany's Protests
Peaceful mass protests forced the East German leadership onto the defensive, contributing to Honecker's fall, the opening of the Berlin Wall and reunification.
Contemporary
Baltic Way (1989): The Human Chain Across Three Nations
A human chain of about two million people drew world attention to the Baltic demand for independence, which was achieved in 1990–1991.
Contemporary
Romanian Revolution (1989): The Violent Fall of Ceaușescu
Ceaușescu's regime collapsed; he and his wife were executed on 25 December, and the National Salvation Front led by Ion Iliescu took power.
Contemporary
Velvet Revolution (1989): Czechoslovakia's Peaceful Overthrow
The Communist Party gave up its monopoly on power, a non-communist majority government was formed and Václav Havel was elected president.
Contemporary
Revolutions of 1989: The Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe
Communist one-party rule ended in six Soviet-bloc states within a year, opening the way to German reunification and the end of the Cold War.
Contemporary
Storming of the Stasi Headquarters (1990): Opening the Files
Citizens took control of the Stasi headquarters; the secret police was dissolved and its files were later opened to the people it had watched.
Contemporary
Two Plus Four Treaty (1990): The Final Settlement on Germany
The four wartime Allies gave up their rights over Germany, which became fully sovereign with fixed borders and limits on its armed forces.
Contemporary
German Reunification (1990): How East and West Germany Became One
The German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany, creating a single sovereign German state with five new federal states.
Contemporary
START I Treaty (1991): Cutting Strategic Nuclear Arsenals
The United States and the Soviet Union agreed to reduce their strategic nuclear forces to 1,600 delivery vehicles and 6,000 accountable warheads each.