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Riccardo Ehrman (4 November 1929 – 14 December 2021) was an Italian journalist whose question at a government press conference in the former
While working for ANSA in Ottawa, Canada, Ehrmann was first sent to Berlin in 1976, but was confined for two months in Rome waiting for his visa to be accepted. That year he met a Spanish woman, whom he would marry in 1981. He was subsequently transferred to India.
In 1982, Ehrman briefly served as correspondent for
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
is said to have precipitated the fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...
.
Early life
Ehrman was born on 4 November 1929 inFlorence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
. His parents were Ukrainian Jews
The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...
from Lemberg (now Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...
) who had decided to stay in Italy during their honeymoon. Aged 13, he was moved to Ferramonti di Tarsia internment camp. In September 1943, he was liberated by the British Army.
Ehrman studied law while being a reporter in Florence. He started as a correspondent for Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
in Rome, and later became a correspondent for Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA), an Italian press agency.
Career
While working for ANSA in Ottawa, Canada, Ehrmann was first sent to Berlin in 1976, but was confined for two months in Rome waiting for his visa to be accepted. That year he met a Spanish woman, whom he would marry in 1981. He was subsequently transferred to India.
In 1982, Ehrman briefly served as correspondent for East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. In 1985, ANSA asked him to return to East Berlin, due to his fluency in German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
. On 9 November 1989, he was summoned to a press conference at which the East German government was to announce that it would facilitate the mobility of citizens from East to West Germany.
At the end of the press conference, he asked Günter Schabowski
Günter Schabowski (; 4 January 1929 – 1 November 2015) was an East German politician who served as an official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (''Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands'' abbreviated ''SED''), the ruling party du ...
, East German press secretary, when new travel restrictions were set to be lifted. After a few seconds, Schabowski replied "As far as I know … effective immediately, without delay." ("Das tritt nach meiner Kenntnis ... ist das sofort ... unverzüglich."). This was a mistake, because the note Schabowski read said that these measures would be lifted as of the following day. This led to a flood of East and West Germans converging on the wall and overwhelming border guards, eventually being let through. After the press conference with his question ended, Ehrman called the ANSA agency headquarters in Rome running shouting "The Berlin Wall has fallen!"
When Ehrman returned home, he received a phone call from the Italian Ambassador to East Germany enquiring what he did at the press conference. , a West German colleague, claims credit as well, because he jumped in before Schabowski answered the question.
In 1991, Ehrman was assigned to Spain, where he remained after his retirement. In 2008, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
.
Death
Ehrman died in Madrid on 14 December 2021, a month after his 92nd birthday.References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrman, Riccardo 1929 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Italian male writers 20th-century Italian writers Berlin Wall Italian emigrants to Spain Italian male journalists Italian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Journalists from Florence Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany