The Fall of the Berlin Wall
'Good Luck and Peace for a new Germany - East meets West' - images by Steve Eason
"Steve Eason is an experienced and skilled printer and darkroom technician based at the Getty Images Archive in West London. He is also a talented photographer and has covered a wide range of events from the 1980's onwards including the Miners Strikes, the Poll Tax Riots, Gay Pride and Henley Regatta.
In 1989 Steve visited Germany to document the fall of the Berlin Wall. He chose to go to the East side of Berlin because he knew that the majority of press coverage would take place from the West where a greater number of people had gathered. He was hoping to be able to capture something a little bit different on a more intimate scale away from the crowds.
It proved to be the right decision, Steve was able to get close to the proceedings and experience something of the celebratory spirit first hand. Steve's favourite photograph from this set is this image on the right of a family crossing to the West, it tells us something about the human drama of this political event.
"
East Berliners prepare to cross through a breach in the Berlin Wall, 25th December.
A quiet moment, the urban landscape softened by light. People queue to leave East Berlin.
Boxing Day, a Christimas Tree seen across the wall from the East.
A blow for freedom. Chipping away at a section of the Berlin Wall.
East Berliners climb onto the Berlin Wall to celebrate the effective end of the city's partition
A man poses with hammer and chisel.
A triumphant group on the wall.
Friendly border guards lifting a child up on to the wall.
No longer a barrier, people climb on to the wall.
A young girl chiselling the wall.
Steve met a father and his children, here the little boy attempts to chip away at a crack in the wall.
A helping hand from a jubilant group.
A child is lifted on to the wall.
This young man was actually inside the cavity in the wall and was handling out pieces of the wall to passers-by.
History in the making, people celebrating New Year and the effective end of the city's partition.
A gay couple strolling past the graffiti on a remaining section of the Berlin Wall, August 1993.
Graffiti on the Berlin Wall depicting German leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker sharing a kiss.
—Curator - Caroline Theakstone, Archive Research Manager
