It’s been 24 years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. As part of their continuous program to deify Ronald Reagan, Republicans try to credit him for this historic event. Giving Reagan credit for the “Fall of the Wall” is like giving the rooster credit for the rising of the sun.
It is true that Reagan stood in front of the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, and said “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” It is also true that nothing much happened until he left office 19 months later. However, in the spring of 1989, the Hungarians, who were occupied by Russian armed forces, started tearing down the border fence they shared with neutral Austria. As the holes in the fence grew a few East Germans, who had long established authority to travel into Hungary, started filtering across the border into Austria. As “loopholes” in the border grew larger, flights to freedom increased and eventually totaled thousands.
The ultimate effect was that the purpose of the Berlin Wall, to keep East Germans locked in, had been nullified. East Germans had an alternate route to escape Soviet tyranny. When Communist officials finally recognized the wall was no longer effective, they opened the gates and Germans celebrated.
Phil Harr
Vancouver
