Ronald Reagan

This poster has a partly glossy, partly matte finish and it'll add a touch of sophistication to any room.

18in x 12in

• 10 mil (0.25 mm) thick
• Slightly glossy
• Fingerprint resistant
• Paper sourced from Japan

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

Text: Address at the Brandenburg Gate, June 12, 1987

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! I

understand the fear of war and the pain

of division that afflict this continent-- and

I pledge to you my country's efforts to

help overcome these burdens. To be

sure, we in the West must resist Soviet

expansion. So we must maintain

defenses of unassailable strength. Yet

we seek peace; so we must strive to

reduce arms on both sides. While we

pursue these arms reductions, I pledge

to you that we will maintain the capacity

to deter Soviet aggression at any level at

which it might occur. And in cooperation

with many of our allies, the United States

is pursuing the Strategic Defense

Initiative--research to base deterrence

not on the threat of offensive retaliation,

but on defenses that truly defend; on

systems, in short, that will not target

populations, but shield them. By these

means we seek to increase the safety of

Europe and all the world. But we must

remember a crucial fact: East and West

do not mistrust each other because we

are armed; we are armed because we

mistrust each other. And our differences

are not about weapons but about liberty.

In Europe, only one nation and those it

controls refuse to join the community of

freedom. Yet in this age of redoubled

economic growth, of information and

innovation, the Soviet Union faces a

choice: It must make fundamental changes, or it will become obsolete.To-

day thus represents a moment of hope. We in the West stand ready to

cooperate with the East to promote true openness, to break down barriers

that separate people, to create a safe, freer world. And surely there is no

better place than Berlin, the meeting place of East and West, to make a

start. And I invite Mr. Gorbachev: Let us work to bring the Eastern and

Western parts of the city closer together, so that all the inhabitants of all

Berlin can enjoy the benefits that come with life in one of the great cities

of the world. ...you Berliners have built a great city. You've done so in

spite of threats--the Soviet attempts to impose the East-mark, the

blockade. Today the city thrives in spite of the challenges implicit in the

very presence of this wall. What keeps you here? Certainly there's a great

deal to be said for your fortitude, for your defiant courage. But I believe

there's something deeper, something that involves Berlin's whole look

and feel and way of life--not mere sentiment. No one could live long in

Berlin without being completely disabused of illusions. Something

instead, that has seen the difficulties of life in Berlin but chose to accept

them, that continues to build this good and proud city in contrast to a

surrounding totalitarian presence that refuses to release human energies

or aspirations. Something that speaks with a powerful voice of affirmation,

that says yes to this city, yes to the future, yes to freedom. In a word, I

would submit that what keeps you in Berlin is love--love both profound

and abiding. As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that

embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon

the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner: "This wall will fall. Beliefs become

reality." Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith;

it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.