III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 385 

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of both Germany and Europe, and the spread of democracy around 

the world. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 24, 2019 

Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. JOHNSON, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin 

Wall, the reunification of both Germany and Europe, 

and the spread of democracy around the world. 

Whereas November 9, 2019, marks the 30th anniversary of 

the fall of the Berlin Wall, one of the most visible symbols of communism and the ‘‘Iron Curtain’’ that divided 

Europe, which led to the reunification of Germany; 

Whereas, beginning with the Russian Revolution of 1917, 

communist governments around the world denied freedom 

to and persecuted their citizens for most of the 20th century, resulting in the deaths of up to 100,000,000 people; 

Whereas, in the aftermath of World War II, the Soviet Union 

established control over countries in Central and Eastern 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 385 IS 

Europe and further increased its power through the foundation of the Warsaw Pact military alliance between the 

Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East 

Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania; 

Whereas the Soviet Union blockade of West Berlin in the 

summer of 1948 left West Berliners with only one 

month’s worth of provisions; 

Whereas, in what became known as the ‘‘Berlin Airlift’’, the 

United States and United Kingdom responded to the 

blockade by airlifting 2,325,809 tons of food and supplies 

during 277,569 total flights into West Berlin; 

Whereas the Soviet Union was forced to lift the blockade of 

West Berlin on May 12, 1949, in light of the success of 

the Berlin Airlift; 

Whereas the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, separated communist 

East Germany from democratic West Germany, dividing 

the German people and symbolically dividing the world 

into democratic and authoritarian spheres; 

Whereas, in West Berlin in 1963, President John F. Kennedy spoke out against the Berlin Wall and communism, 

declaring that ‘‘[f]reedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a 

wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us’’; 

Whereas, during the 28 years of the Berlin Wall’s existence, 

more than 75,000 people were imprisoned for attempting 

to leave East Germany, and more than 1,000 people are 

estimated to have been killed trying to escape; 

Whereas Soviet forces brutally repressed demonstrations 

against repressive communist governments in Hungary in 

1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968, and Poland in 1980; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 385 IS 

Whereas the United States Congress played a crucial role in 

the founding of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, 

independent and uncensored news outlets that broadcast 

behind the Iron Curtain and have been credited by 

former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and former Czech 

President Vaclav Havel with playing a significant role in 

the ending of the Cold War; 

Whereas, in West Berlin in 1987, President Ronald Reagan, 

standing at the Brandenburg Gate, symbolically referred 

to both the physical wall and the division of the world 

and implored Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to ‘‘tear 

down this Wall!’’; 

Whereas President Reagan stated, ‘‘As long as this gate is 

closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to 

stand, it is not the German question alone that remains 

open, but the question of freedom for all mankind.’’; 

Whereas, on August 23, 1989, several million people across 

the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, 

which were illegally annexed in 1940 by the Soviet Union, 

demonstrated bravery and resilience by joining hands to 

form a 500-kilometer long human chain to peacefully demand their independence; 

Whereas, at midnight on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall 

symbolically fell, and East Berliners were allowed to 

cross into the West; 

Whereas, that night, East Berliners took pickaxes to this 

hated symbol of oppression, and during the following 

three days more than 2,000,000 people visited West Berlin from the East; 

Whereas, on November 13, 1989, the United States Senate 

welcomed ‘‘the opening of the Berlin Wall as symbolic of 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 385 IS 

the beginning of the process of reform taking place in the 

German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and 

throughout Eastern Europe’’; 

Whereas, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a wave of democratic governance swept the world; 

Whereas, by the summer of 1990, democratically elected governments had been formed in all former Warsaw Pact 

countries; 

Whereas the reunification of Germany was officially declared 

on October 3, 1990; 

Whereas the process of German reunification faced significant economic, structural, cultural, and political challenges both within Germany and in Europe and took 

dedicated political leaders and citizens, with the support 

of allied nations, over a decade to achieve; 

Whereas, on December 25, 1991, the Soviet flag was lowered 

from over the Kremlin for the final time, replaced by the 

Russian flag; 

Whereas Mr. Gorbachev later said, ‘‘The Soviet model was 

defeated not only on the economic and social levels; it 

was defeated on a cultural level. Our society, our people, 

the most educated, the most intellectual, rejected that 

model on the cultural level because it does not respect the 

man, oppresses him spiritually and politically.’’; 

Whereas, since its reunification, Germany has become the 

world’s fourth largest economy, has served as a leading 

voice in the European Union (EU), the Group of 7, and 

the United Nations, and has been consistently rated by 

Freedom House as one of the world’s freest countries; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 385 IS 

Whereas the United States and Germany share a close and 

multidimensional relationship, including security cooperation and an economic and trade partnership; 

Whereas the United States and Germany share values of 

freedom, democracy, and human rights and work in tandem to support and uphold these three pillars globally; 

Whereas the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall 

coincides with the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic 

Treaty Organization (NATO) and the 15th anniversary 

of the European Union ‘‘Big Bang’’, when 10 mostly 

post-communist countries joined the EU’s community of 

democracies; 

Whereas many former Soviet and communist countries are 

prospering as a result of their democratic and economic 

reforms, reflected in their memberships in the EU and 

NATO; and 

Whereas the fall of the Berlin Wall signified the end of the 

division of Europe and, ultimately, the triumph of democracy over communism: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the 30th anniversary of the fall 

3 of the Berlin Wall as the start of German reunifica4 tion and democratic change in Eastern Europe and 

5 much of the rest of the world; 

6 (2) values the significant efforts made by Ger7 man and European citizens to reunify and reinvigo8 rate a united Germany; 

9 (3) recognizes Germany for its steadfast alli10 ance and friendship with the United States, its leadVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR385.IS SR385

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•SRES 385 IS 

1 ership within the European Union, its commitment 

2 to democracy, rule of law, and market-based eco3 nomics, and its efforts to support these values 

4 around the world; 

5 (4) congratulates the former communist coun6 tries of Europe for their substantial progress over 

7 the past 30 years towards strengthening their de8 mocracies, protecting human rights, combating the 

9 corruption endemic to communist regimes, 

10 transitioning to market-based economies, and resolv11 ing longstanding disputes; and 

12 (5) reaffirms the United States commitment to 

13 supporting democratic reform, and urges these coun14 tries to continue this progress so that their democ15 racies and economies can thrive and their people can 

16 prosper. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS