[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 180 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8776-H8777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                30TH ANNIVERSARY OF FALL OF BERLIN WALL

  (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, this week, freedom lovers around the world 
celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
  Constructed in 1961, the infamous Berlin Wall symbolized Soviet 
brutality and forced separation between liberty and tyranny. Yet, no 
wall could contain the persistent surge for liberty by the captive 
people of Central and Eastern Europe.
  In Poland's shipyards, a workers' solidarity movement, led by 
visionary and valiant labor leader Lech Walesa, brought democracy to 
the Polish people and millions of others as the Soviet Union collapsed.

[[Page H8777]]

  In Leipzig, Germany, 100,000 protestors and their peaceful 
demonstrations led to the once-unimaginable reunification of a 
civilized Germany.
  Yet, as democracy spread, many assumed liberty's work in the region 
was done and that the roots of democracy were firmly entrenched.
  Tragically, yet again, maligned Russian influence haunts the region 
as Putin wages his illegal war in Ukraine, today's scrimmage line for 
liberty on the European continent. Outmoded ethno-national narratives 
are being fed that, in the past, led to centuries of bloody conflict.
  Mr. Speaker, now more than ever, democratic nations must unite so 
that liberty, justice, and equality is for all people across our globe.

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