Reflections on the Fall of the Wall: Interviews with General Brent Scowcroft and Gahl Hodges Burt

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a wall that cut across the heart of Germany and served as a stark reminder of the freedom that was denied to millions of people in Europe.

To recognize this anniversary, two of IRI’s board members, General Brent Scowcroft, who served as President George H.W. Bush’s national security advisor, and Gahl Hodges Burt, who is currently vice chairman of the American Academy in Berlin and was present at President Reagan’s famous “Tear Down This Wall” speech, shared their reflections on these historic events.

House Speaker John Boehner has also recognized the anniversary and has sent a letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in which he writes, “Here in the United States, we are aware of the debt we owe to ordinary German citizens who longed for freedom and risked everything they had for it.” 

Read the full letter here.