    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 134, 116th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 10117 of November 6, 2020
    World Freedom Day, 2020
    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation
    On World Freedom Day, we commemorate the historic fall of the Berlin
    Wall in 1989, which liberated the people of East Germany from the grip
    of tyranny. This watershed event marked the triumph of freedom and
    liberty for hundreds of millions of people who rejected the oppression
    of Soviet communism and its Marxist-Leninist ideology. Today, we
    celebrate the blessings of freedom in Germany and across the world, and
    reaffirm our Nation's support for all who wish to be free.
    Following World War II, the Soviet Union built an Iron Curtain between
    the East and West, isolating the city of West Berlin and shutting off
    the free flow of goods and people. Determined to prevent the light of
    liberty from being extinguished, our Nation stood with the United
    Kingdom and France against the Soviet demand that the West withdraw from
    Berlin. To defeat this demand for surrender, the United

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    States Air Force
    and our allies fearlessly airlifted food, fuel, and supplies to the
    starving people of West Berlin, and together, we were resolved to
    restore freedom to the German people.
    For almost 30 years, the Berlin Wall symbolized the divide between the
    free world and communism. On its eastern side, the rights that
    democratic societies hold dear--the fundamental freedoms of religion,
    speech, the press, association, and petition--were replaced by forced
    secularism, oppressive censorship, monolithic propaganda, and inhumane
    division. Hundreds of brave Germans died attempting to escape this
    brutal fate, as the Stasi used landmines, armed watchtowers, and
    barbed wire to intimidate those who dreamed of freedom and to kill and
    harm those who braved any attempt to escape. Those whose escapes failed,
    those who facilitated successful or attempted crossings, and those who
    crossed the Stasi in some other way were tortured, imprisoned, and
    executed in horrifying violations of human dignity and rights.
    The United States always stood resolutely with the victims and survivors
    of the evil ideology that controlled East Germany and East Berlin. Our
    valiant response to Soviet oppression in Germany defined the Cold War,
    from President John F. Kennedy's declaration, ``Ich bin ein Berliner,'';
    in 1963 to President Ronald Reagan's momentous call, ``Mr. Gorbachev,
    tear down this wall!''; in 1987. Our founding principles of individual,
    God-given unalienable rights, human dignity, and equality of opportunity
    were embraced by the millions held in Soviet bondage, and ultimately won
    the ideological battle of the Cold War. As a result, we are able to
    celebrate Germany's reunification today, reaffirm our alliance, and
    recognize German contributions to modern day peace and prosperity.
    This World Freedom Day, we honor all those who fought for freedom,
    endured injustice, and bravely resisted totalitarianism before the fall
    of the Berlin Wall. We also reassert our longstanding commitment to
    combat tyranny, uplift the voices of those held captive by communist
    regimes, and halt the spread of this brutal ideology at home and around
    the world.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
    America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
    the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 9, 2020, as
    World Freedom Day. I call upon the people of the United States to
    observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, reaffirming
    our dedication to freedom and democracy.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of
    November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
    fifth.
    DONALD J. TRUMP