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.
Speaking of Reagan.....
We were so blessed to have such a remarkable President. Happy Birthday, Mr. President!!
I believe Reagan’s advisers told him not to say it.
Yes we were, but we've been cursed with a GOP that never saw it that way.
Now, Everyone knows that it was Jimmy Carters policies that caused the Berlin Wall to fall after Reagan’s 8 years and GHW Bush’s one year, Reagan just had lucky timing. It was Carters policy of offering the hand in friendship and trust that did it.
HA-HA.
Well, Maybe not, Reagan was a true national hero and visionary, the LAME excuse above was used for a different pair of POTUSes. Won’t mention who.
His birthday is February 6th. I remember that cause it's also mine.
Then, I guess they're about 7 months off.
Just the RINO’s.
The 'experts' in the State Department were having the vapors, and media mavens NBC/ABC/SeeBS were aghast at that damn stupid cowboy for offending the Soviets.
Nothing much has changed on that front in all these years.
I was re-reading this 1983 article by Reagan explaining why the pro-life position is necessary for our nation to survive. He was a wonderful man and visionary leader. So missed in times like this when corruption and leftism has taken over.
Take time to read: Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation
http://old.nationalreview.com/document/reagan200406101030.asp
Reagan has not even started to be recognized for the place in world history, that he will in time come to be.
Thanx for the post. Great tagline!! My thoughts exactly.
If socialism is such a great thing, why was the Berlin Wall built in the first place? To keep the Mexicans out?
This is the photo I sent to my daughter when she was at Hillsdale College. I had put it in a frame
and she hung it on her wall in her dorm. Everyone loved that photo, but especially him. They
used to take turns setting it up in different rooms and when someone went out of town someone
else would take care of it.
I stole it from a poster I saw. :)
The world was blessed with three strong leaders who emerged, for their time, for the purpose of liberty . . . Reagan, Thatcher and Pope John Paul ll. Recalling those leaders makes one realize the colossal pettiness and shallowness of our current timid little president. In a hundred more years, Reagan’s words will still stir pride, while despite the quality of video, nothing theOne has ever muttered bears repeating. What an utterly forgettable little embarrassment.
Gotcha
Peggy Noonan covered this speech quite a bit in her book “What I saw at the Revolution”. Reagan put that line in himself. The State Dept., etc. kept taking it out (the speeches get reviewed by a BUNCH of agencies, sent back to the speech-writer, the President, then back for reviews, etc). Anything the President says becomes “official” policy, so EVERYONE is real touchy about the contents.
He was handed the final, approved speech on his way to the gate. He wrote in his line, yet once again, in the limo just to make sure he didn’t miss it!
The actual fall of the gate has an interesting story too. Seems a report in the media stated that the East German government had decided to open it up, and would be working out the details in upcoming sessions. But people started showing up at the gate, and the guards at the gate didn’t have all of the details - just that “a decision had been made to open the borders”. So they opened the gate!
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