III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 274 

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the peaceful and democratic 

reunification of Germany. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 1, 2015 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. JOHNSON) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the peaceful and 

democratic reunification of Germany. 

Whereas more than 22,000,000 people of the United States 

served in the Cold War by supporting the efforts to bring 

military, economic, and diplomatic pressure to bear in the 

defense of Germany and the West, and ultimately helping 

more than 400,000,000 people gain freedom from the 

bondage of communism in the Soviet Bloc; 

Whereas the United States supported the promulgation of the 

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, under 

which Germany was eventually reunited; 

Whereas the United States created the Reconstruction Loan 

Corporation, which, under West German leadership, became the Kreditanstalt fu ̈r Wiederaufbau that invested in 


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•SRES 274 IS 

the reconstruction of West Germany and lay the economic groundwork for the reunification of Germany; 

Whereas, on November 4, 1989, more than 1,000,000 people 

gathered in Alexanderplatz in East Berlin and 40 other 

cities and towns in East Germany to demand free elections and basic civil rights, such as freedom of opinion, 

movement, press, and assembly; 

Whereas, on November 9, 1989, East German politbureau 

member Guenter Schabowski announced that the Government of East Germany would allow ‘‘every citizen of the 

German Democratic Republic to leave the GDR through 

any of the border crossings’’ and East German leader 

Egon Krenz promised ‘‘free, general, democratic, and secret elections’’; 

Whereas thousands of people in East Berlin immediately 

flooded the border checkpoints at the Berlin Wall and demanded entry into West Berlin, causing the overwhelmed 

border guards of East Germany to open the checkpoints 

to allow people to cross into West Berlin; 

Whereas in the days following the fall of the Berlin Wall on 

November 9, 1989, hundreds of thousands of people from 

East Germany freely crossed the border into West Berlin 

and West Germany for the first time in more than 28 

years; 

Whereas German Chancellor Helmut Kohl demonstrated leadership and vision when he announced a 10-point program 

calling for the 2 Germanys to expand mutual cooperation 

with the view toward eventual reunification on November 

28, 1989; 

Whereas in March 1990, East Germany held free elections 

for the first time and those elections led to the defeat of 


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•SRES 274 IS 

the Party of Democratic Socialism and demonstrated the 

desire of the East German people to reunify Germany 

and rejoin the world community, which led to the May 

1990 treaty on monetary, economic, and social issues and 

the signing of the Unification Treaty on August 31, 

1990; 

Whereas, on October 2, 1990, President George Herbert 

Walker Bush told the German people: ‘‘The United 

States is proud to have built with you the foundations of 

freedom, proud to have been a steady partner in the 

quest for 1 Germany, whole and free. America is proud 

to count itself among the friends and allies of free Germany, now and in the future.’’; 

Whereas, on October 3, 2015, the people of Germany will celebrate in Frankfurt and across Germany, the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Germany; and 

Whereas the reunification of Germany demonstrated the end 

of the division of Europe and the triumph of democracy 

over communism: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) with the people of the former communist 

3 countries and Western Europe, celebrates 25 years 

4 of a united Germany, free from the oppression of 

5 communism; 

6 (2) honors the courage and sacrifice of the peo7 ple of Germany, the United States, and other coun8 tries who served in the Cold War to bring freedom 

9 to Central and Eastern Europe; 


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•SRES 274 IS 

1 (3) recognizes the importance of the alliance be2 tween the United States and Germany in— 

3 (A) common defense; 

4 (B) an enduring shared commitment to the 

5 free and unified Europe; and 

6 (C) an expanding and deepening economic 

7 prosperity under the rule of law throughout Eu8 rope; 

9 (4) expresses to the people of Germany an ap10 preciation for the commitment of the people of Ger11 many to the promotion of freedom through leader12 ship in providing international assistance, support 

13 for peacekeeping and international security efforts, 

14 and acceptance of refugees, including efforts by the 

15 people of Germany in Afghanistan, Bosnia and 

16 Herzegovina, Kosovo, Lebanon, Sudan, and Ukraine; 

17 and 

18 (5) reaffirms the deep and historical friendship 

19 between the Government and people of the United 

20 States and the Government and people of Germany. 

Æ 


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