On November 9, 2009, the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the
Berlin Wall, a large “Celebration of Freedom” was held at Brandenburg
Gate in Berlin. In addition to Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit and
Chancellor Angela Merkel, a number of famous international leaders
greeted the crowd of celebrants; they included Russian President Dimitri
Medvedev, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A video
message from U.S. President Barack Obama was also broadcast. The events
culminating in the fall of the Wall were symbolically reenacted by the
toppling of a row of dominoes set up along the former East-West border
between the Reichstag and Potsdamer Platz. To honor Poland’s and
Hungary’s role both before and during the political transformation of
1989/90, the first dominoes were pushed over by Lech Wałęsa, former
Polish president and Solidarność (Solidarity) chairman, and Miklós
Németh, former Hungarian prime minister.
Video Message from U.S. President Barack Obama during the “Celebration of Freedom” (November 9, 2009)