It began with popular unrest in East Germany and across Central and Eastern Europe, and ultimately led to the collapse of Communism, the end of the Soviet bloc and of an entire era dominated by the Cold War and Europe's post-World War II division. The year 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of what became the biggest year of change in Europe since the Second World War.
Starting with talks between Poland's Communist leadership and the then banned Solidarity movement in February 1989, a series of events was put in motion which culminated in the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the most potent symbols of divided Europe.
Marking the anniversary of the Fall of Communism,
