[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 93 (Monday, June 13, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E898-E899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   JUNE 12, 1987: RONALD REAGAN ADDRESSES PRESIDENT MIKHAIL GORBACHEV

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 13, 2016

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, June 12th marks an 
important date in United States policy. Twenty-nine years to the day, 
President Ronald Reagan traveled to Berlin to speak out against 
communism and call on the President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail 
Gorbachev, to tear down the Berlin Wall. This would become known as his 
famous ``tear down this wall'' speech.
  The Berlin Wall grew in the aftermath of the Second World War. In 
1945, the Allies split a defeated Germany into four allied occupation 
zones. The eastern part of the country went to the Soviet Union and the 
Western part of Germany went to the United States, Great Britain, and 
later France. Even though Berlin sat entirely in the Soviet territory, 
it too was divided into Eastern and Western occupation zones with the 
Soviets taking the East and the other allies taking the West part of 
the city.
  As Berlin was split apart, so too was the relationship between the 
democratic United States and communist Soviet Union. These stark 
differences in political ideologies led to extreme tension in that 
area, and around the world.
  So much so that the Soviet Union would often play the role of 
mischief maker in Germany. In 1948 the USSR began a blockade on West 
Berlin in the hopes of driving out the Western influences. However, due 
to the ingenious Berlin Airlift, the blockade was called off the 
following year. Following a decade of relative calm, the Soviet Union 
was once again up to no good. They were embarrassed by the steady flow 
of refugees from the Communist East into the Capitalist West part of 
Germany. In the first 11 days of August in 1961, 16,000 East Germans 
fled to West Germany. On August 12th alone, 2,400 people defected.
  It was then that Soviet Premier Kruschchev closed the border between 
East and West Berlin for good. In 1961 the Berlin Wall officially came 
into existence. It stood 12 feet tall and 4 feet wide until the fall of 
communism. During that time, the only way to cross the border was 
through one of three checkpoints: Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. But 
travelers were rarely allowed to cross the border.
  The mischief of the USSR divided a city and separated friends, 
families, and loved ones. If you tried to cross the border you could be 
shot. At least 171 people died trying to escape to freedom. The Berlin 
Wall not only literally divided a city for 30 years, but stood as a 
brutal reminder of how cruel communism could be. It wasn't until 
communism began to thaw, with the help of President Reagan change was 
made.
  On June 12, 1987, President Reagan traveled to Berlin to view the 
wall. That afternoon,

[[Page E899]]

at the foot of the Brandenburg Gate, he made a speech that would 
reverberate across the world and through time.
  He spoke directly to Gorbachev and said, in part, ``Behind me stands 
a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast 
system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe . . . 
Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated 
from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a 
scar . . . in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a 
level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. 
In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, 
declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind--too 
little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. 
After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world 
one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. 
Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and 
peace. Freedom is the victor . . . There is one sign the Soviets can 
make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the 
cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, 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!''
  The borders between East and West Germany were finally reopened in 
November 1989 and the official demolition of the Berlin Wall began on 
June 13, 1990, exactly 3 years and 1 day following President Reagan's 
speech. The June 12, 1987 speech given by President Reagan will be 
remembered forever as a win for freedom.
  And that's just the way it is.

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