U.S. Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

12 November 2009

Secretary Clinton joins other leaders at the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

November 9, 2009 – President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave remarks in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event that symbolizes the collapse of communism throughout Europe -- a process in which Poland played a leading role.   In remarks given by video, President Obama said, “Let us never forget November 9, 1989, nor the sacrifices that made it possible.”

At the ceremony in Berlin, Secretary Clinton highlighted Poland’s role in the events of 1989, saying “We remember the Poles who waged a campaign for liberty that began with a strike in the shipyards of Gdansk and ended by shattering a system of tyranny.  We remember a Polish Pope who spoke out for the aspirations of people across Europe and the world.”  See the transcript and video.

Secretary Clinton and Lech Wałęsa were among those attending the Atlantic Council’s commemoration of the anniversary on Sunday.  In her keynote address Secretary Clinton said, “There were many authors of the changes we witnessed in 1989. Some acted knowingly, like the Polish pope who resurrected a gospel of liberty.”

Also view the Department of State’s International Information Program’s Publication: The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later (in English), which highlights events that led to the collapse of communism in Poland and throughout Central and Eastern Europe.  The following articles in the publication are of particular interest to Polish readers:

“I Will Remember That Day All My Life” by Adam Michnik
Excerpt: “I wrote it was a great holiday: In the perennial struggle between man and barbed wire, today man triumphed and the barbed wire was defeated.”

“Those Were The Days, My Friend” by Anna Husarska
Excerpt: “November 9, 1989, is the date most potently associated with the end of the unjust oppression of half of Europe. But the Wall began to crack back in 1980 when the Polish trade union Solidarity was created at the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk… “

Legacy of 1989 Must Be Defended by Janusz Bugajski
Excerpt: “Although Solidarity was temporarily stifled and driven underground, its mass membership and farsighted leadership demonstrated that the days of Soviet-imposed communism were numbered.”