Posted
on November 9, 2014
On
this day in 1989, the Berlin Wall fell.
That
makes today the 25th anniversary of the great event!
The
ending of the Cold War was symbolized by the tearing down of the
Wall. For decades, there had been tension between Communist Eastern
Europe, and the Soviet Union, and capitalist Western Europe, and the
U.S. But starting around 1987, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had
been making reforms in his nation, and the frosty relations between
Eastern and Western Blocs had been improving. Communist leaders in
various countries had been losing power. The groundswell of change
came to head in Berlin, and when most of the actual wall was
physically dismantled and destroyed (and sent around the world as
souvenirs), the non-physical “Iron Curtain” was ripped away,
psychologically speaking, as well. (Granted, it took another two
years for the Soviet Union to fully dissolve and more democratic and
capitalistic nations to spring up in its place.)
 |
| A portion of the wall still stands in Berlin. |
 |
| Other fragments of the Wall stand in various cities all over the world as monuments. |
The
people pushing today as World Freedom Day want to celebrate the end
of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. They celebrate that
this war ended without a nuclear blast, without a final bloody
battle, without losers, really – everybody won!
 |
| In this photo, you can see the colorful decorations on the Western side of the Berlin Wall. And then the large "kill zone" on the Eastern side! |
And
the people of Berlin, Germany, are celebrating this 25th
anniversary with a display of lights that followed the line that had
been the wall. What was once a 12-foot concrete wall that cut the
city in half—a wall that was guarded by barbed wire, towers,
trenches, and guys with guns—is now marked with a line of 7,000
illuminated white balloons. Tonight, the balloons will be set free
into the night sky.
 |
| This diagram shows some of the things that kept people in East Germany from escaping to freedom. |
Of
course, this almost-effortless balloon release will be quite a
contrast to the bulldozers, cranes, and people-with-hammers who
demolished the wall 25 years ago. Still, Germans are hoping to teach
their kids and grandkids about the real events being commemorated,
probably in the hope that we can ward off tyranny if we teach kids
about what tyranny looks like, and how terrible it is.
Also
on this date:
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