[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15548]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, November 9, 1989, was the day the Berlin 
Wall came down, a day we can all be proud. It is a day that reminds us 
of the power of democratic values and ideals.
  I am filled with happiness as I remember that wonderful day 25 years 
ago. I am a proud American, there is no other country blessed with such 
opportunity, but the roots of my heritage lie in Poland. I grew up in a 
home that kept the heritage of the old country alive. As a child of 
World War II, Europe has always been fundamental to my life.
  Together with my family I watched Poland fall, along with Hungary and 
the Czech Republic and others, behind the Iron Curtain. I remember when 
Poland was sold out at Yalta and Potsdam because of an ill-conceived 
agreement. These countries became captive nations.
  We watched as a wall was built in Berlin. Those in East Berlin found 
themselves behind not only the Iron Curtain but the Berlin Wall as 
well, cut off from family, friends, and their livelihoods.
  I am proud that Americans stood up at this moment--the famous Berlin 
Airlift provided those in West Berlin during the Berlin Blockade. The 
United States, with our allies, delivered basic necessities, food, and 
fuel. We all stood with President Kennedy as he declared ``Ich bin ein 
Berliner.'' American leadership was instrumental in making small cracks 
in the wall. As Madeline Albright, whose heritage is also rooted in 
Eastern Europe like my own, has said of the United States, 'We are the 
indispensable nation. We stand tall. We see further into the future.'
  The wall began to crumble when an obscure Polish electrician named 
Lech Walesa jumped over a wall in a shipyard in Gdansk. It began with 
the Solidarity movement. From this, a people's revolution was sparked 
in Central Europe.
  And thanks to the nonviolent protestors, the dissidents, such as 
Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia, and the political leadership from 
President Reagan and Maggie Thatcher and members of Congress the Wall 
came down.
  I stand here to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall, bringing 
down the Iron Curtain. Twenty five years ago, as a citizen of a strong 
democratic United States of America, I joined President Reagan when he 
said, ``Mr. Gorbochev, tear down this wall.'' I take this opportunity 
to stand together with my countrymen and celebrate our democratic 
values, our respect for human rights, and our freedom. The United 
States is a great nation, and through our action, commitment, and 
resolve, we will continue to bring down walls of oppression.
  This is a great occasion for all of us and for the world and deserves 
our remembrance.

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