Tear Down This Wall!

On June 12th, 1987, President Ronald Reagan called upon Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Iron Curtain that divided the communist East and the capitalist West. The most famous line from this speech is as follows: “If you seek peace–if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe–if you seek liberalization: come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

This speech was well-received and it reminded people that President Reagan wanted to ease tensions with the USSR. For Berliners, Reagan's speech gave a glimpse into the future. Two years later, in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Leading up to this, though, was a series of events that showed a thaw in Cold War Tensions. There were successful independence movements and democratic protests and uprisings were common throughout Eastern Europe. Polish Solidarity kicked off many more movements for independence and democratic rule.

In November 1989, the East Berlin government announced that Germans were free to cross from the East into the West. At midnight, millions of Germans went to the checkpoints to cross the border. After the border was opened, two million East Berliners visited West Berlin, and there was a celebration. People from the East continued going to the West, and Berlin was finally united. So many people were crossing the border on the first few notes that the government even stopped passport checks.

Allowing people to cross through almost unchecked significantly weakened the East German government. Soon after, there were even larger protests demanding a democratic government. In the first truly free election in East Germany, the party who promised reunification won in a landslide. The new East German government, led by Lothar de Maiziere, began negotiations for reunification.

Germans used hammers to knock away parts of the wall. These people became known as "wall woodpeckers." Then, cranes and bulldozers came in to knock down even larger parts of the Berlin Wall. East Germany, at this point, was very weak, both politically and economically. This facilitated the unification of Germany eleven months later, on October 3, 1990.

This reunification was ultimately the end of the war. Germany was partitioned after World War II, and the Iron Curtain was in place throughout the entire Cold War. After nearly half a century, the Berlin Wall was finally lifted and Germany was one nation once again.

Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/reagan-challenges-gorbachev-to-tear-down-the-berlin-wall
https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/The-reunification-of-Germany
https://time.com/5720386/berlin-wall-fall/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/reference/modern-history/why-berlin-wall-built-fell/