History of Berlin the wall at the Brandenburg Gate in scenes of wild celebration broadcast worldwide. This time no Soviet tanks rolled through Berlin. The wall never closed again, and was soon on its way to demolition, with countless Berliners and tourists wielding hammers and chisels to secure souvenir chunks. On Christmas Day December 25, 1989, the American conductor Leonard Bernstein shared with East and West Berliners and the world his Berlin Celebration Concert in order to celebrate the Fall of the Berlin Wall. "Ode to Joy", which Bernstein had reworded "Ode to Freedom", was performed. After the fall of Communism in Europe,
Berlin Now that "Schneider seeks to explain why the city became 'the capital of creative people from around the world today.'" Kulish, however is critical of Schneider "pontificating" about Muslim immigrants and his apparent praise for anti-Muslim politicians. Berlin Now Berlin Now: The City After the Wall (also published as Berlin Now: The Rise of the City and the Fall of the Wall) is a 2014 book by German writer Peter Schneider. Published on the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, "Berlin Now" is a story of how Berlin has changed since reunification to become Europe's most vibrant melting-pot