Fall of Berlin Wall 'a defining moment'
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The French and Germans consider the fall of the Berlin Wall to have done more to change the world in the last 25 years than the September 11 attacks on the U.S., according to a poll conducted for CNN to mark the 25th anniversary of the launch of the news channel.
Asked to choose the most significant news event of the last 25 years in a poll conducted by TNS, 53 percent of respondents in France and 46 percent of respondents in Germany chose the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Only 23 percent of Britons said the fall of the Berlin Wall had done most to change the world. Fifty-eight percent of UK respondents chose the September 11 attacks on the U.S., according to the findings of the CNN poll published on Tuesday.
Asked to name the person who has had the most impact on the world in the last 25 years, 26 percent of respondents across Britain, France and Germany chose Pope John Paul II. (Special report)
Respondents in the UK put Nelson Mandela top, with 22 percent of the vote. Pope John Paul II took 37 percent of the vote in France, and 33 percent of the vote in Germany.
Out of the six choices, Princess Diana was judged to have had the least impact on the world, registering just 11 percent of the vote across Britain, France and Germany. (Special report)
The research was undertaken between 20 and 25 May among representative samples of approximately 1,000 adults in each of Britain, France and Germany using TNS Ncompass International Omnibus. The margin of error is +/- three per cent.
TNS is the market information group and the world's largest custom research company.
