Freedom, democracy and JFK: Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
Berlin is the symbolic capital of the free world.
For 40 years the Brandenburg Gate was the front line of the Cold War.
The Wall ran along here, dividing a city, a country, a continent and the world. Today, the Gate is open, and people stroll freely through it.
Berliners celebrate freedom because they know what it is to lose it. It is a defiant riposte to the repression and censorship of the Nazi regime. And it is a legacy too from the 40 years of the Cold War, when West Berlin was a tiny island of western democracy, surrounded by communist dictatorships.
Liberal, democratic, tolerant: these are values that Berlin nurtures, as does Germany as a whole, not despite its dark recent history but because of it.
This is a city which has witnessed the consequences of demagoguery, dictatorship and division. Berliners know of the horrors of building walls to divide families.
A great American president, John F Kennedy, saw clearly what Berlin stood for. He came to the city at the height of the Cold War, and proclaimed “Ich bin ein Berliner”. I am a Berliner. “All free men, wherever they live, are citizens of Berlin.”
Kennedy’s speech - vision, leadership and immortal words from a US President
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3022166.stm
Kennedy was right. Berlin was – and remains - a potent symbol of the importance of freedom and democracy. And it is a reminder, especially important in our turbulent times, never to take these things for granted.
So, when you go to Berlin, do make sure you enjoy - as we do - the youthful energy, the bustle, the beer, the great Turkish food, the fabulous sausages, the Currywurst, the cafes, the parks, the river, the stunning views from the top of the Fernsehturm, the history, the excellent public transport and the sense of being in one of the great cities of the world.
But be sure too that you walk through the Brandenburg Gate.
Why? Simply because you can.
Build bridges, not walls.
Freedom, democracy and JFK: Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
Berlin is the symbolic capital of the free world.
For 40 years the Brandenburg Gate was the front line of the Cold War.
The Wall ran along here, dividing a city, a country, a continent and the world. Today, the Gate is open, and people stroll freely through it.
Berliners celebrate freedom because they know what it is to lose it. It is a defiant riposte to the repression and censorship of the Nazi regime. And it is a legacy too from the 40 years of the Cold War, when West Berlin was a tiny island of western democracy, surrounded by communist dictatorships.
Liberal, democratic, tolerant: these are values that Berlin nurtures, as does Germany as a whole, not despite its dark recent history but because of it.
This is a city which has witnessed the consequences of demagoguery, dictatorship and division. Berliners know of the horrors of building walls to divide families.
A great American president, John F Kennedy, saw clearly what Berlin stood for. He came to the city at the height of the Cold War, and proclaimed “Ich bin ein Berliner”. I am a Berliner. “All free men, wherever they live, are citizens of Berlin.”
Kennedy’s speech - vision, leadership and immortal words from a US President
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3022166.stm
Kennedy was right. Berlin was – and remains - a potent symbol of the importance of freedom and democracy. And it is a reminder, especially important in our turbulent times, never to take these things for granted.
So, when you go to Berlin, do make sure you enjoy - as we do - the youthful energy, the bustle, the beer, the great Turkish food, the fabulous sausages, the Currywurst, the cafes, the parks, the river, the stunning views from the top of the Fernsehturm, the history, the excellent public transport and the sense of being in one of the great cities of the world.
But be sure too that you walk through the Brandenburg Gate.
Why? Simply because you can.
Build bridges, not walls.