The history of the collapse of the Berlin wall
Brendan Monroe
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: News
Monday, Nov. 9th marks the 20th anniversary of the day that embodied the hope and unconquerable human spirit of Berliners throughout the world. On that day in 1989, humanity joined in with Berlin and watched the towering wall that had divided the city and the world for 44 years finally come down. With the fall of the wall, the gates of opportunity were lifted for Berliners, who had been living in the shadow of communism and fascism for 56 years. Parents who had muffled with promises the cries of their children and loved ones under the great shadow of the wall now turned to their children's children and repeated the promise as the wall came down, freedom shining through the cracks.
One of the unquestioned highlights of Ronald Reagan's Presidency was when he appealed directly to Soviet Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in a 1987 speech in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, in which he issued his famous exhortation: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
For Americans the fall of the wall meant a crucial step towards the ending of the Cold War, but for the citizens of East Berlin the fall of the wall meant something much more resonating and longed after - freedom. At Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie exhibit, located at the former American sector entrance, there are many voices and stories of the plight of the East Germans and their struggle to escape through whatever means available. Whether it involved squeezing into a suitcase or attempting to ride a hot air balloon over the wall into West Berlin, the tireless, courageous citizens of isolated East Berlin did whatever they could to escape over the wall and into a free land.
20 years after the fall of the wall, there is hardly any physical trace that it was once here. Instead, walking the streets of a now united Berlin as I was fortunate enough to do over the summer gives one the opinion of a revitalized city that has only recently had the opportunity to stretch its legs and embrace the democratic ideals so long hindered by the communist and fascist regimes of years past.
One of the unquestioned highlights of Ronald Reagan's Presidency was when he appealed directly to Soviet Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in a 1987 speech in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, in which he issued his famous exhortation: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
For Americans the fall of the wall meant a crucial step towards the ending of the Cold War, but for the citizens of East Berlin the fall of the wall meant something much more resonating and longed after - freedom. At Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie exhibit, located at the former American sector entrance, there are many voices and stories of the plight of the East Germans and their struggle to escape through whatever means available. Whether it involved squeezing into a suitcase or attempting to ride a hot air balloon over the wall into West Berlin, the tireless, courageous citizens of isolated East Berlin did whatever they could to escape over the wall and into a free land.
20 years after the fall of the wall, there is hardly any physical trace that it was once here. Instead, walking the streets of a now united Berlin as I was fortunate enough to do over the summer gives one the opinion of a revitalized city that has only recently had the opportunity to stretch its legs and embrace the democratic ideals so long hindered by the communist and fascist regimes of years past.
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