Tear Down This Wall Speech By Ronald Reagan Turns 25 On June 12

Tear Down This Wall Speech By Ronald Reagan

On June 12, 1987,  former U.S. President Ronald Reagan stood in front of the Berlin Wall and challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall," few believed it might someday happen.

Twenty five years later, the speech has passed into history as one of the "great communicator's" most stirring moments.

Reagan delivered his famous speech standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate -- the symbol of Germany's post-war division -- and the wall that had divided Berlin since 1961.

"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!" said Reagan.

Later on in his speech, President Reagan said, "As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner, 'This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality.' Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom."

Another highlight of the speech was Reagan's call to end the arms race with his reference to the Soviets' SS-20 nuclear weapons, and the possibility "not merely of limiting the growth of arms, but of eliminating, for the first time, an entire class of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth."

On November 9, 1989, a little more than two years after President Reagan delivered his speech, the Berlin Wall was opened East Germany's after hundreds of people converged on crossing points. The collapse of the Berlin Wall ushered in freedom, democracy and hope in Eastern Europe.

President Reagan’s words then are said to be equally evocative today as the United States faces challenges as complicated and fearful as those he confronted.