BERLIN 

Hundreds of thousands of Germans gathered at Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate on Sunday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Some 8,000 helium balloons were released on the path of the former wall, illustrating its destruction in 1989 which became a powerful symbol of the closing of the Cold War era.

Despite the cold grey day in Berlin, thousands poured to the streets and waited for long hours to see the visually impressive show.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, former Polish president and trade union leader Lech Walesa and Hungarian ex-president Miklos Nemeth -- the three historic figures that influenced the change in the former communist countries -- were the honor guests of the public fest.

Thousands of Germans celebrated Gorbachev by chanting “Gorby, Gorby" at the Brandenburg Gate.

The 83-year-old politician is highly respected in Germany, remembered for his decision to refrain from using force in 1989 at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

- Merkel: Berlin is hope for Ukrainians, Syrians

German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- who once lived on the eastern side of the wall -- used the occasion to inspire "those who are struggling for their freedoms" worldwide.

"Dreams can come true. Nothing should be left as it is," Angela Merkel said earlier in the day, at the Berlin Wall Memorial.

She hailed the long struggle of the people in Eastern Germany for their freedom and finally tearing down the wall. 

 From 1961 to 1989, at least 136 Germans were killed while trying to escape from East Germany.

"We can change things for the better, that is the message of the fall of the Berlin Wall," she said.

"This message is particularly for those people in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and other regions of the world whose freedom and rights are threatened and severely violated." 

The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 by the communist regime of Eastern Germany to prevent people crossing to West Berlin.

The reform policies of the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the 80s and the growing discontent of the East Germans with the communist regime evolved into a protest movement that led to the subsequent destruction of the wall in 1989. 

Merkel said Sunday without the achievements of the freedom movements in Hungary and Poland, destruction of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany would not have been realized.

She said Germany would continue to support values of democracy and freedom in the world.

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