A HOLE OPENS:

In September 1989, the border opens between Hungary and Austria. By the end of the month, 30,000 East Germans have fled to the West through this open door.

Western cameras capture the emotional images. East Germans see the exodus on western TV. East German officials blame hate-mongers in the west for inciting people to leave.

East Germany clamps down on travel to Hungary. But East Germans beg for asylum in the West German embassies of Prague, Czechoslovakia, and Warsaw, Poland. Western television covers that story, too.