Many Germans regard Harald Jaeger as the man who opened the Berlin Wall. "I didn't open the wall. The people who stood here, they did it," Jaeger says. Jaeger, a 71-year old former East German Lieutenant Colonel, in charge of passport control at Bornholmer Street crossing, was on duty the night the Berlin Wall came down.

Jaeger recalls almost choking on his dinner in the break room when he heard Politburo member, Guenther Schabowski, mistakenly say on a televised evening news conference, that East Germans would be allowed to cross into West Germany effective immediately. Right after the news conference, Jaeger says 10 to 20 people showed up at Bornholmer Street. They kept their distance and waited for a sign from the East German guards. The crowd soon grew to 10,000. Many of them shouted, "open the gate!"

To ease the tension, Jaeger was ordered to let some of the rowdier people through and to stamp their passports in a way that rendered them invalid if they tried to return home. Letting a few people through only made matters worse. Despite orders not to let more people through, Jaeger ordered his guards to set aside all controls, raise the barrier and allow all East Berliners to travel through. "It's an order I never would have given if Schabowski hadn't given the press conference four hours earlier," says Jaeger.

Jaeger estimates that more than 20,000 East Berliners crossed on foot and by car into the West at Bornholmer Street that night. Some curious West Berliners even entered the east. Jaeger says he has no regrets about what he did that night, nor was he punished by his East German superiors. He adds that he is looking forward to the 25th anniversary activities.