Witness History
Witness History
Battle for the capital: Bonn v Berlin
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February 20, 2023
9 minutes
Available for over a year
In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell and Germany had to decide which city would be the new capital.
The contenders were the West German city of Bonn and the East German city of Berlin and the two fought it out in a ferocious political battle that would help define the country.
Ilona Toller hears from Bonn citizen Jürgen Nimptsch, who would later become the mayor of the city and Wolfgang Schäuble who fought on the side of Berlin.
(Photo: Bundestag 2023. Credit: Getty Images)