HRES 496 IH
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 496
Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 2, 2009
Mr. POE of Texas submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Whereas, November 9, 2009, marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the symbolic end of the Cold War;
Whereas the Cold War was an enduring struggle between communism and democracy throughout the second half of the 20th century;
Whereas the last United States President to speak at the
Brandenburg Gate prior to the destruction of the Berlin Wall was
President Ronald Reagan, who, in June 1987, stated, `General Secretary
Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this
gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this
wall!';
Whereas two years later, in September 1989, protests that the
East Germans called the `Peaceful Revolution' broke out, with
protestors at first chanting `We want out!', and then gradually
changing that protest cry to `We're staying here!', demonstrating their
desire for democracy in their part of Germany;
Whereas, on November 9, 1989, in response to protests that had
grown to include over 1,000,000 people in Berlin's Alexanderplatz,
Gunter Schabowski, the communist East German Minister of Propaganda,
announced that the border would be opened for `private trips abroad';
Whereas thousands of people in East Berlin immediately flooded
the checkpoints at the Berlin Wall and demanded entry into West Berlin
causing the overwhelmed East German Border Guards to open the border
checkpoints to allow people to cross into West Berlin;
Whereas people in West Berlin enthusiastically greeted those
coming across from East Berlin, dancing atop the Berlin Wall and
hammering chunks out of it until a section opened through which more
East Germans walked and shouted out `Freedom! Freedom! Just once,
Freedom!';
Whereas over 400,000,000 people were freed from the bondage of
communism at the end of the Cold War in countries then known as the
Soviet Union, East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania,
Bulgaria, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania,
Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan;
Whereas the victory of the United States in the Cold War will signify freedom from oppression for decades to come;
Whereas Berlin, Germany, will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with the `Festival of Freedom'; and
Whereas the fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the most
significant events of the 20th century and symbolized the triumph of
democracy over communism: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall;
(2) celebrates 20 years of freedom from the bondage of communism with the people of the former communist countries; and
(3) acknowledges the symbolic triumph of democracy over communism.
