Ronald Reagan in Berlin

Overview & Synopsis

His call for Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall earned Ronald Reagan enormous and lasting popularity. But 1987 was by no means the first time that Reagan had set foot in the divided city. Indeed, he had previously traveled there in 1978 and 1982, and his appearance in 1987 would not be his last. In this essay, Jens Schöne explores the visits of the 40th President of the United States to Berlin. The historian investigates both the background and consequences of these events. Reagan’s visit to East Berlin is analyzed just as critically as that of June 1982, which foreshadowed much of what was to cause global excitement five years later. It considers the mixed reactions among West Berlin’s population as well as the East German Ministry for State Security, which naturally took a keen interest in events and attempted to influence them.