Twenty years ago today, Communist East Germany opened its borders to the West in one of the defining moments at the end of the Cold War. As the world looked on, citizens of both countries streamed from one side of the Wall to the other. Families were reunited and total strangers celebrated together in the streets.
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a great unifying event, not only for the two halves of Germany that were literally reunited, but for a world that had grown up in the shadow of the Cold War. The biggest physical symbol of the Cold War was suddenly a dance floor. Once people were shot trying to get from one side of it to the other, and suddenly, everyone was chipping at it with sledgehammers to get a piece of it to stick on their living room mantel as a memento. The great dividing line between East and West was reduced to an interesting piece of interior decoration. The eyes of the world were on Berlin, and the world cheered and patted itself on the back for a job well done.
The 20th anniversary of the Wall’s fall comes at a time of relative pessimism in the United States. According to a Rasmussen poll, 52 percent of Americans believe that the country’s best days are in the past. The sense of optimism that came with the end of the Cold War feels a long way removed from today’s world. The conflict between the democratic, capitalist United States and the communist USSR — and their respective allies — must have seemed relatively easy to grasp compared to today’s world stage. The United States remains in Iraq and Afghanistan with no foreseeable easy answers, while the entire world holds its breath waiting for a conclusion to the rising tensions over Iran. In a striking situation of déjà vu, Russia is reasserting its old dominance over Europe, particularly in the area of Europe’s energy dependence.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel — a former East German — addressed a joint session of Congress last week. As to be expected, she thanked the U.S. for its role in securing a free and reunited Germany, but the bones of her speech were all business. She talked about the difficult problems of the here and now — a nuclear Iran, the environment, a “transfer of responsibility” in Afghanistan. Merkel’s speech was practical but at the same time it memorialized a moment of idealistic achievement in world history.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world was optimistic — and rightfully so. Freedom had triumphed and a torn country was reunited. But, as one challenge has disappeared, others have risen in its place. Merkel’s speech reflects this. She realizes, as do America’s citizens, that the reunification of Germany is not only a powerful symbol of human potential and of the promise of democracy to Americans and to the world, but also an inspiration. She used her opportunity to reflect and memorialize, but also to make a pointed reminder about the work that is yet to be done.
Casey Petroff is a freshman in the School of International Service and a moderate liberal columnist for The Eagle. You can reach her at edpage @theeagleonline.com.
