[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 183 (Tuesday, December 8, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2905]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 8, 2009

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, it was 20 years ago November 9, 
1989, that the most notorious symbol of the Cold War, The Iron Curtain, 
came crashing down. When the Berlin Wall was opened for ``private trips 
abroad'', thousands lined up at check points demanding passage. In the 
following days and weeks, hundreds celebrated by physically tearing 
down the concrete division so completely that very little of the actual 
wall remains.
  The Berlin Wall was erected by the German Democratic Republic in 1961 
separating Eastern and Western Germany to stop migration of East 
Germans trying to escape communism. The wall had many deterrents for 
those looking for escape. Its total border length around West Berlin 
was ninety-six miles with forty-one miles of wire mesh fencing, sixty-
five miles of anti-vehicle trenches, and seventy-nine miles of contact 
or signal fence. It has been reported that between 136 and 192 people 
were killed on the Berlin Wall and about 200 persons injured by 
shooting while attempting to escape between 1961 and 1989.
  November 9, 2009, two decades later, thousands cheered as colorfully 
decorated mammoth dominos set along a mile-long route were toppled; 
symbolizing the wall coming down and the fall of communist countries in 
Eastern Europe. On this day, we remember those brave, proud people who 
stood up to say no more!

                          ____________________