Tear down this wall

"Tear down this wall" is the famous challenge from a speech by Ronald Reagan, the 40th US president, who is credited by his supporters with winning the Cold War.

Related Topics:
Ronald Reagan - Cold War

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In a speech at the Brandenburg Gate, right by the Berlin Wall, on June 12, 1987, he challenged the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to tear it down as a symbol of his desire for increasing freedom in the Soviet sphere. (Although the wall was technically the responsibility of East Germany, not the Soviet Union, the United States considered East Germany a Soviet puppet state.) On November 9 1989 the East German government removed all restrictions on East Germans leaving the country, effectively marking the end of the wall.

Related Topics:
Brandenburg Gate - Berlin Wall - June 12 - 1987 - Soviet Union - Mikhail Gorbachev - East Germany - Puppet state - November 9 - 1989

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Reagan delivered the Tear Down This Wall speech, over the objections of the State Department and National Security Council. National Security Advisor (and future Secretary of State) General Colin Powell was one of the administration's major opponents of the speech.

Related Topics:
State Department - National Security Council - National Security Advisor - Secretary of State - Colin Powell

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