Berlin Wall 136 to more than 200 in and around Berlin. In 1989 a series of revolutions in nearby Eastern Bloc countries—Poland and Hungary in particular—caused a chain reaction in East Germany that ultimately resulted in the demise of the Wall. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts
Berlin-Spandau station was expected to lead to the reopening of the line to Staaken via a new S-Bahn station called "Rathaus Spandau" (rather than Spandau West). However, this was postponed, as U-Bahn line U7 was completed to Rathaus Spandau (located next to Spandau West station) on 1 October 1984. The initial plans for the Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway were developed during the same decade. Negotiations with East Germany for what was initially intended as a transit route between West Germany and West Berlin began in autumn 1988. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the completion of negotiations with an agreement on the