Berlin Airlift - HISTORY

For 30 years, the Berlin Wall was the defining symbol of the Cold War, separating families and keeping the people from jobs and opportunity in the west.

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In June of 1987, President Ronald Reagan stopped in West Berlin on the 750th anniversary of the city and delivered one of his most famous lines when he demanded that Mikhail Gorbachev tear down the Berlin Wall. In an address to the nation following his return from that trip, President Reagan recalls standing next to the imposing structure.

On June 12, 1987, in a speech delivered from the Brandenburg Gate in West Germany, President Ronald Reagan makes one of his most famous statements when he calls on Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher traveled to the U.S. to meet with President George H.W. Bush the day after the November 20, 1989, fall of the Berlin Wall. In his public remarks, Genscher pledges to encourage democratic reform.

Berlin's Animal Arms Race

The day after the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 20, 1989, President George H. W. Bush met with West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher to discuss plans for the reunification of Germany. As a token of his gratitude to the United States, Genscher brought President Bush a piece of the Berlin Wall. In a press conference, Bush thanks the foreign minister for the gift.

President Kennedy's diplomatic resolve was tested as tension mounted at the Berlin wall.

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