The German Question is Looking For a New Answer
- Reagan physically describes the Berlin Wall, which was a complex system of concrete walls, barbed wire fences, guard towers, and something called "death strips." Nasty.
- Note his use of not-so-warm-and-fuzzy words like "gash," "restriction," "cutting," and "brutal division." He isn't a fan of this wall; he emphasizes that it is bad for everyone and refers to it as a "scar."
- Then we get this ringer: "The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed" (20). Huh? What does that mean?
- Well, Presidents von Weizsacker and Reagan are referring to the gate that Reagan was speaking in front of that day.
- It's a super-cool architectural feature of the city that was bombed heavily in WWII and served kinda as the "gateway" between East and West Berlin.
- Of course, since the city was divided and travel across it restricted, it wasn't so much a gateway as a sad, blown-up reminder of things that had gone terribly wrong.
- Anyway, the "German question" was basically the question of whether or not West and East Germany would ever be one country again. (Spoiler alert: they would.)
- But the German question wasn't just about Germany, Reagan tells us. It was about freedom. It was about freedom for everyone. Because if this wall is allowed to stand, then what does that say about the freedom of the rest of the world?
- But hey, Reagan isn't here to complain. He says he "found" a message of hope and triumph in Berlin, but really, that's the message he's about to deliver himself.