BERLIN WALL

Once I watched this past week of the various TV programs about the 30th anniversary of the destruction of the Berlin Wall, I wasn't able to get them out of my head. These programs reminded me of the world impact that 30 years ago the demolition had on society.

The German Democratic Republic, known then as East Germany, commenced the construction of the 'Wall' in 1961. This guarded concrete barrier divided Berlin not only physically but also ideologically. Including guard towers placed along the large concrete 'Wall' as well as wide areas that contained anti-vehicle trenches and other defensive mechanisms. The 'Eastern Bloc' depicted the 'Wall' as protecting its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. The 'Wall' was built not only to keep the country's people in but also to keep the capitalism out as stated by the East German and the Soviet Union governments. The Berlin 'Wall' was the symbol of the Cold War which divided communism and the western democratic governance.

I remember very well, as if it was few days ago, the scenes on television which stunned viewers as they watched citizens literally tear the 'Wall' to pieces. No one in my generation thought they would see this day.

"Tear down this wall" is a line from a speech made by U.S. 40th President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin on Friday, June 12, 1987, calling for the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open the Berlin Wall, which had divided West and East Berlin since 1961.

On this day in 1987, President Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the wall that divided Communist East Germany from the western enclave in Berlin.

Unlike 1956 and 1968, when Soviet forces ruthlessly crushed protests in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, respectively, Gorbachev actually encouraged the East German action. As such, the destruction of the Berlin Wall was one of the most significant actions leading to the end of the Cold War in November, 2009.

In 1989, various revolutions in nearby Eastern Bloc countries - Poland and Hungary in particular - caused a chain reaction in East Germany that ultimately resulted in the demise of the 'Wall'. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all citizens from the German Democratic Republic could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the 'Wall'. The Brandenburg Gate in the Berlin Wall was opened on 22 December 1989. The demolition of the Wall officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in November 1991. The "fall of the Berlin Wall" paved the way for the reunification of Germany. (to be continued...)