Tear Down This Wall: Shout-Outs
Tear Down This Wall: Shout-Outs
In-Text References
Historical and Political References
Berlin's 750th B-Day (5, 95)
World War II (24)
Marshall Plan (26, 28, 31)
European Community (34, indirectly in 89)
Wirtschaftswunder (35)
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (it hadn't been signed yet, but Reagan talks about it indirectly in sentences 68-77)
NATO (75)
Geneva talks (76)
Strategic Defense Initiative (79)
Four Power Agreement of 1971 (94, 96)
1988 Seoul Olympics (105)
Name Drops
Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of West Germany (1)
Eberhard Diepgen, Governing Mayor of West Berlin (1)
John F. Kennedy, President of the United States (1, 83)
Carl von Weizsacker, President of West Germany (20)
George Marshall, U.S. Secretary of State (26, 27)
Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of (West) Germany (36)
Ludwig Erhard, Chancellor of (West) Germany (36)
Ernst Reuter, Mayor of West Berlin (36)
Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union (45)
Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party and leader of the Soviet Union (61, 62, 63, 97)
Pop Culture References
"Berliner Luft" by Paul Lincke (6)
"Ich hab' noch ein Koffer in Berlin" by Marlene Dietrich (6)
Berliner Schnauze (44)
Geographical References
Berlin City Hall (1, 83)
Grunewald (5)
Tiergarten (5)
Brandenburg Gate (18, 20, 21)
Alexanderplatz TV tower (121, 122, 123)
Reichstag (28, 125)
Berlin Wall (13-23, 61-63, 110, 125-28)
References to this Text
Historical, Political, Literary, and Philosophical References
This speech is uber-famous and has been widely referenced by politicos, journalists, academics, entertainers, and businessfolk. It's been dissected, analyzed, loved, hated, and remixed to techno. The phrase "tear down this wall" has become part of America's (and the world's) collective memory, and it's everywhere.
Everywhere. Give it a Google.
Pop Culture References
We mention most of them here…but here are a couple of others.