Reagan challenges Gorbachev 1987
On this day in 1987, in one of his most famous Cold War
speeches, President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Leader Mikhail
Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the repressive
Communist era in a divided Germany.
In 1945, following Germany’s defeat in World War II, the nation’s
capital, Berlin, was divided into four sections, with the Americans,
British and French controlling the western region and the Soviets
gaining power in the eastern region. In May 1949, the three western
sections came together as the Federal Republic of Germany (West
Germany), with the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) being
established in October of that same year. In 1952, the border between
the two countries was closed and by the following year East Germans were
prosecuted if they left their country without permission. In August
1961, the Berlin Wall was erected by the East German government to
prevent its citizens from escaping to the West. Between 1949 and the
wall’s inception, it’s estimated that over 2.5 million East Germans fled
to the West in search of a less repressive life.
With the wall as a backdrop, President Reagan declared to a West
Berlin crowd in 1987, “There is one sign the Soviets can make that would
be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom
and peace.” He then called upon his Soviet counterpart: “Secretary
General Gorbachev, if you seek peace–if you seek prosperity for the
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe–if you seek liberalization: come here,
to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down
this wall.” Reagan then went on to ask Gorbachev to undertake serious
arms reduction talks with the United States.
Most listeners at the time viewed Reagan’s speech as a dramatic
appeal to Gorbachev to renew negotiations on nuclear arms reductions. It
was also a reminder that despite the Soviet leader’s public statements
about a new relationship with the West, the U.S. wanted to see action
taken to lessen Cold War tensions. Happily for Berliners, though, the
speech also foreshadowed events to come: Two years later, on November 9,
1989, joyful East and West Germans did break down the infamous barrier
between East and West Berlin. Germany was officially reunited on October
3, 1990.
Gorbachev, who had been in office since 1985, stepped down from his
post as Soviet leader in 1991. Reagan, who served two terms as
president, from 1981 to 1989, died on June 5, 2004, at age 93.
(More Events on This Day in History)
-
American Revolution
- 1776 Virginia adopts George Mason’s Declaration of Rights
-
Automotive
- 1940 Edsel Ford agrees to manufacture Rolls-Royce engines for war effort
-
Civil War
- 1862 J.E.B. Stuart rides around the Union army
- 1864 Grant pulls out of Cold Harbor
-
Cold War
- 1987 Reagan challenges Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall
-
Crime
- 1994 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman murdered
-
Disaster
- 1897 Deadly quake hits India
-
General Interest
- 1898 Philippine independence declared
- 1963 Medgar Evers assassinated
- 1975 Indira Gandhi convicted of election fraud
-
Hollywood
- 2003 Gregory Peck dies
-
Literary
- 1942 Anne Frank receives a diary
-
Music
- 1971 Honey Cone earns a #1 hit with “Want Ads”
-
Old West
- 1876 Journalist headed for Little Big Horn files dispatch
-
Presidential
- 1924 George Herbert Walker Bush is born
- 1944 John F. Kennedy receives medals
-
Sports
- 1920 Big Red sets record at Belmont Stakes
-
Vietnam War
- 1965 South Vietnamese premier resigns
- 1972 Lavelle testifies before Congress
-
World War I
- 1917 King Constantine of Greece abdicates
-
World War II
- 1940 Paris on the verge of invasion
No comments:
Post a Comment