From left: the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, former US President George H.W. Bush and former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl applaude during an event in Berlin, Germany, 31 Oct 2009Three world leaders who had key roles in the reunification of Germanygathered Saturday to share their memories of the collapse of the BerlinWall.

Germany's ex-chancellor Helmut Kohl, former U.S.president George Herbert Walker Bush, and former Soviet leader MikhailGorbachev were honored at a gathering in Berlin for their efforts inreunifying Germany.

Former Chancellor Kohl now speaks withdifficulty after a stroke and is confined to a wheelchair. He saidthat although Germany's history was not always proud, Germans should beproud of their country's reunification.

At the close of WorldWar II, Germany was divided into two separate countries governed underseparate ideologies of democracy and communism. The wall was builtstarting in 1961 and came to symbolize the divide between the so-calledIron Curtain and the democratic West.  

The wall was breached on November 9, 1989 as a worldwide audience watched on live television.  


Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.