This week people around the world are beginning to celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest and happiest events in human history - the Fall of the Berlin Wall. On the night of November 9, 1989, the concrete monument and symbol of socialist tyranny was finally breached and for the first time East Berliners were able to set their feet on the free soil of the West without the fear of being gunned down by East German soldiers. As with the commemoration of all great events, it presents an opportunity to contemplate and discuss not only where we are but where we were and what we have learned from the experience. Since this momentous event marked the death throes of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and its socialist/communist puppet regimes, it is an opportunity to contemplate and discuss what we have learned from the failed socialist experiment of the 20th century that cost hundreds of millions of human beings their lives, freedom and prosperity. Furthermore, it presents the opportunity to discuss the questions that academics, historians, journalists and others have been asking since History rendered its verdict in the debate between Individualism & free enterprise/capitalism and Collectivism & socialism/communism - how has socialism managed to survive in the post-Soviet era? Why do we continue to see people repeat the mistakes of the past in countries such as Venezuela and propose to repeat them here in the United States? I’m opening this discussion thread to to hear your personal recollections and observations and I’ll be sharing my own shortly, and since many of us here aren’t old enough to have witnessed the events of November 9, 1989 I’m going to be posting articles, photos and videos concerning the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the events surrounding it throughout this thread. And now, to get started - the history, festivities and personal recollections….
I was in Berlin in November 1989 and I helped to tear down a section of the wall and I still have my souvenir pieces of the wall.
That's awesome. I was stateside when the Wall fell but my wife was still serving in West Germany when it happened. What an incredibly exciting time...
Since Joe brought up memorabilia of the Wall I thought I'd post this pretty picture of a section of the Berlin Wall that sits behind the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California:
Here's a photo of the Berlin Wall (and Brandenburg Gate at right) while it was being constructed in 1961: Here's a larger color photo of the Berlin Wall and Brandenburg Gate: http://groups.csail.mit.edu/cag/raw...ndenburg_gate_while_the_wall_was_still_up.jpg
Berlin rejected Reagan statue but Trump administration found way to make it happen The United States is erecting a 7-foot-tall statue of former President Ronald Reagan at its Berlin embassy after a decade of trying to persuade Berlin to honor the late president. City officials declined numerous requests by U.S. officials and dignitaries to honor Reagan with a statue. Berlin officials argued that a statue was unnecessary because Reagan was already an honorary citizen of the city. They also said honoring Reagan would be unfair to others who also supported the city against Soviet occupation after World War II. U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grennell proposed earlier this year that instead of convincing the Berlin city government to erect the statue the U.S.s should erect one itself, according to the Wall Street Journal. The statue is now scheduled to be inaugurated on Nov. 8. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...mp-administration-found-way-to-make-it-happen
That's great and so was I, though in Mid December. At that time it was still possible to take a guided bus tour through East Berlin with the guide unctuously pointing out that women, in these hell hole and idle factories, get paid the same as men. And brown soot everywhere. I had to stop regularly to clean the car windshield. However did you notice that many in the crowd, though I have no idea how many, were still anti American and pro communism? Many were shaking the hands of the Eastern border guards but I never would.
Spent a lot of time chipping away and got a lot for friends, but eventually just bought a large triangular piece from a guy with a jackhammer. It sits on my desk. East Berlin was the most depressing place I've seen in my life and those who support communism are beyond ignorant. It's like supporting Nazi death camps.
A big fat THANK YOU! to President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul ll, and Lech Walesa... and, of course, Gorby.
That's why Mike Pompeo is in Berlin today... https://images.wsj.net/im-124217?width=1280&size=1.77777778 I haven't checked to see if we have any high ranking officials attending the festivities in Germany tomorrow.
And Margaret Thatcher! I believe Gorbachev's hand was forced. https://www.amazon.com/President-Pope-Prime-Minister-Changed-ebook/dp/B000X138WI
Gorby could have doubled down as virtually all leftists like, hitler, stalin, mao, and even xi jinping have done, but he didn't.
I have some friends who used to live in the USSR, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and communist Bulgaria and they have nothing good to say about socialism/communism. The stories they've told me about life beyond the Iron Curtain would be a real eye opener for the ignorant youngsters in this country who are eager to embrace and repeat the same mistakes that were made in those countries, of which Bulgaria is the only one that survived.
I was born in '86 so I was 3y/o when this came down. Unfortunately, because of my age, I don't remember anything about it.
...and the countless other brave men and women who struggled for freedom in the former Communist Bloc. Many of those dissidents were my heroes growing up and they still inspire me to this day. In fact, right now I'm reading some speeches that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn gave after he was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974. Here are a few choice excerpts I jotted down:
I was in 4th grade. I remember that day. I watched on TV all the people hacking away at the wall. I wasn't fully aware of the significance until I went back into class. I also remember days afterward people at the malls and stores were selling pieces of the wall for $10. I learned more about that day from my mother. Her father, my grandfather came over to the US from Czechoslovakia when it was still one country. Yes, I know the Berlin wall was in Germany.
It was pretty clear to me back then that Gorby saw the writing on the wall and the end was near. The best he could do was engineer as smooth a transition as possible away from the old Soviet system.
I was able to cross over on foot to East Berlin near the Brandenburg Gate and wandered around for a while. The buildings all had the same drab paint color as the buildings in Moscow and the streets were pretty deserted. I went to a huge cafeteria type restaurant and the place was empty with only a few shabbily dressed people hanging around. West Berlin looked like a vibrant city in contrast.
I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall as if it was yesterday and I can honestly say it was one of the most exciting days of my life. Everyone who witnessed it knew they were watching one of those epic and unforgettable moments in human history that few of us ever have the good fortune to behold.
But doubt he had much to double down on. The USSR was broke and the anti Communist movement, Lech Walesa being an important part, was getting stronger. He had no real options.