[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 385 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d 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, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr.
Cruz, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Markey) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
December 17, 2019
Reported by Mr. Risch, without amendment and with an amendment to the
preamble
January 8, 2020
Considered and agreed to with an amended preamble
_______________________________________________________________________
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 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;
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 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;
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 Germany demonstrated unconditional solidarity with the United States
following the September 11, 2001, attacks and leadership within NATO
during the invocation of Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty in
recognition that an attack on one is an attack on all;
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
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the 30th anniversary of the fall of the
Berlin Wall as the start of German reunification and democratic
change in Eastern Europe and much of the rest of the world;
(2) values the significant efforts made by German and
European citizens to reunify and reinvigorate a united Germany;
(3) recognizes Germany for its steadfast alliance and
friendship with the United States, its leadership within the
European Union, its commitment to democracy, rule of law, and
market-based economics, and its efforts to support these values
around the world;
(4) congratulates the former communist countries of Europe
for their substantial progress over the past 30 years towards
strengthening their democracies, protecting human rights,
combating the corruption endemic to communist regimes,
transitioning to market-based economies, and resolving
longstanding disputes; and
(5) reaffirms the United States commitment to supporting
democratic reform, and urges these countries to continue this
progress so that their democracies and economies can thrive and
their people can prosper.
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