East German Border Guard’s Snap Decision to Stand Down Helped Ensure Joyful End to Berlin Wall

“As they shouted ‘Let us out!’, the guards’ decades-long authority dwindled away for all to see. Hoping to reduce the building pressure, Lt. Col. Jäger was told to let across the loudest agitators. But it had the opposite effect, and made the rest even more determined to get across, too. ‘That’s the moment when I said to myself, ‘It’s up to you to act’,” said Mr. Jäger. Around 11.30pm he told his perplexed subordinates: ‘Open the barrier!’ The disbelieving crowd surged past the checkpoints, and the Berlin Wall was finished.” Twenty-five years ago this month.