Posted on 09/19/2012 9:48:44 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
A plaque was unveiled Wednesday near the spot where President Ronald Reagan delivered his "Tear down this wall" address 25 years ago in Germany.
Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit and Philip Murphy, a U.S. ambassador to Germany, unveiled the plaque near the Brandenburg Gate, where Reagan delivered his address at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987.
The bronze plaque was designed by artist Helga Lieser.
The unveiling was part of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration commemorating what would have been Reagan's 100th birthday.
Reagan issued the challenge to destroy the Berlin Wall to then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The speech was part of a strategy by Reagan to end the Cold War.
"The plaque commemorating Ronald Reagan's speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate reminds us of the dark time when the city was divided, it reminds us of the wall and the barbed wire," Wowereit said in a statement.
The Berlin Wall came down Nov. 9, 1989.
"What seemed inconceivable at the time of the Cold War has become reality today: Berlin is a free and international city. And the Brandenburg Gate has become a symbol of this openness," Wowereit added.
When asked what Reagan might think of Pariser Platz, where the Brandenburg Gate is, Murphy said Reagan "would approve the coming and going of Berliners and visiting Berliners, young and old. Although I would say, judging from what I see, more young than old.
"(Reagan) would have loved the fact that Berlin attracts so many young people — free to make their own choices, free to order their affairs as they see fit, free to wander back and forth across what is now only a line in the street but what was once a treacherous killing zone," Murphy said in a statement provided by the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Valley.
A 9½-foot-tall piece of the Berlin Wall is displayed at the library. The museum also has an exhibit on Reagan's visit to the Berlin Wall and the famous speech.
Representatives from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Reagan Library were in Berlin to see the unveiling of the plaque. Andrew Littlefair, trustee for the foundation, read a letter from Nancy Reagan.
"I know if Ronnie were here today, he would be honored and humbled by the recognition he is receiving. But he would be the first to tell you that it was the power of freedom that truly deserves the credit," Nancy Reagan said in the letter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_eCVhCGYwE&feature=related
A good historical video of the evening’s confusion as the crowd grows at the closed gates. And then.....
I don’t like the fact that the plaque is on the ground.
Thank you for those great photos - a reminder that God is good. I keep reminding myself that Mr. Carter (and the whole terrible situation with the economy, etc.) led to President Reagan. And that Thatcher and the Pope were there at the time. I pray that the stars will align again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYdjbpBk6A
Excerpts from his speech. (...and the crowd goes wild...)
Reagan believed the American people, and believe that the American people knew what was best, not the government.
Reagan was popular with rank and file people from both parties and independents. He was not popular with bureaucrats or professional politicians from either party.
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