It’s thirty-six years since November 9, 1989. The unthinkable happened. East Germany suddenly imploded and within minutes the Berlin Wall was falling.

I had been reporting from East Berlin for several weeks as pressures mounted on the communist regime. That evening Gunter Schabowski, a senior Politburo member, read a note publicly, suggesting East Germans could leave immediately. Like many, I was amazed and asked myself —  did I really hear that correctly?

I swiftly had to decide what to say on air for Channel 4 News. Did it mean the end of East Germany? That night reshaped Europe and helped define what “unthinkable” means.  We raced through dark East Berlin streets to edit my report — in the DDR TV headquarters. I did it in silence because of the Stasi secret police monitoring us. I had to decide, should I report the end of East Germany? I did. It was a risk. I was right.

Later that night, as I and my camera crew stood in no man’s land at the Brandenburg Gate, Wessies were sitting on the wall, shouting “bring this down”. I found myself alongside a platoon of DDR border guards. One officer yelled into his radio, “should I shoot the invaders?”.  Eventually he then burst out laughing. There was no one left to give him an order. For me, this was the moment East Germany collapsed.

Thirty-six years on, it remains one of the most extraordinary nights I have ever witnessed.