President Obama Is Not Going to Berlin

President Obama is not going to Berlin for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Others have already criticized, and others will criticize, him for his decision, but mostly I feel sorry for him that he does not have enough time to go. Susan and I were lucky enough to go to Berlin in May of this year for nine days and it was fantastic. The celebration was already starting, and we were able to see exhibits in both Potsdamer Platz and Alexanderplatz on the fall of the Wall. They were inspiring. It was also inspiring to go back to the place where the border crossing checkpoint at Heinrich-Heine-Strasse was and see what is there today – which is nothing. It is just a street, like any other street in any other city, where you just walk or drive – because there is nothing stopping you.

Part of the problem may be that President Obama is too young to understand what the fall of the Wall means. He was only nine days old when the Wall was built. He wouldn’t remember about Peter Fechter, who was allowed to bleed to death after being shot trying to cross the Wall in 1962. President Obama was still in his teens when two families flew from East Germany to freedom in a home-made balloon. When the Wall was opened on November 9, 1989, he was in law school. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal for him.

But it is too bad he is not going. When President Reagan went to Normandy on June 6, 1984, he paid tribute to the Boys of Pointe du Hoc and all of the others in what Tom Brokaw called "the Greatest Generation". It is too bad that President Obama cannot go to Berlin to do the same for those of the next generation.

Too often it seems that people want to say that it was the Vietnam War that defined America in the last half of the twentieth century. But I disagree. Vietnam was part of our experience – but only part.

Vietnam was just one battle in a much bigger war. That bigger war was fought all over the world. At army bases in Korea, protecting South Korea from another attack from the North. In nuclear submarines under the ocean, protecting against a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. At SAC headquarters in Omaha, directing the ICBMs and B-52s. At Army and Air Force bases in England, defending NATO. And in Berlin, especially Berlin, because Berlin was on the front line of the Cold War for 40 years.

The Cold War was not as dramatic as the war that preceded it, but it was just as important. Maybe you have to be older than President Obama to remember the joy and happiness we felt when Eastern Europe became free. And the relief we felt when we realized we need no longer fear a nuclear war.

Maybe my wife and I can understand this better because we were able to travel to East Berlin and East Germany while the Wall was still up. And to Czechoslovakia, too. We read about life behind the Iron Curtain. We still have the letter we received from our friends in Prague after freedom came to that country, a letter that was filled with so much joy.

Going to Berlin would have been a chance for President Obama to celebrate with our good friends and allies, the citizens of Germany. More importantly, it would have been given him an opportunity to honor all those Americans who, over a period of 40 years, did their part to win this victory – and win this war.

Comments

[Jennie]

Dad,

Nice article.

love, Jennie

[sue]

As the person who went to Berlin in May with Pat, I want to add my thoughts. I feel very sad that President Obama does not have time to go to Berlin for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Even though I know that it shows only symbolic support for the fall of Communism, I think the US President's support is very important. It is important not to forget - just like it is important not to forget the Holocaust or D-Day. People were oppressed, separated from their families, tortured and died under communist rule. Part of President's Obama's lack of interest or lack of understanding, in addition to his age, may be that he is not as interested in Europe and does not remember the Cold War. When he was growing up, he was in Indonesia and Hawaii so he may not have the interest in Europe that many Americans have.
Sue