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Who Deserves Credit for the Berlin Wall's Fall?
Posted by Tim Drake
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 4:32 PM
Taking a look at the vast majority of stories commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, there’s one pivotal person missing from the majority of the mainstream coverage: Pope John Paul II.
Is this lack of inclusion an accidental oversight or an intentional act? If the previous Pontiff played no key role worth remembering, then why did the KGB want him dead?
There’s no question about the role that Pope John Paul II played in the collapse of the wall and communism in general. President Ronald Reagan talked about it. George Weigel wrote about it. Professor Nick Hayes has written about it. And Lech Walesa said something on it.
“The truth is that 50% of the fall of the wall belongs to John Paul II, 30% to Solidarity and Lech Walesa and only 20% to the rest of the world. That was the truth then and is the truth now,” said Walesa.
Polish-born Pope John Paul II called on the peoples of Europe “to change the face of the world, and his message liberated the people who then forced politicians to sanction changes,” added Walesa.
Not only did Pope John Paul II appoint anti-communist bishops in the Eastern Bloc, but he also publicly visited Krakow, Warsaw and Auschwitz, giving the Polish people the support they needed to oppose communism. Let’s demand that the mainstream media give credit where credit is due.
| Filed under berlin wall, communism, lech walesa, poland, pope john paul ii, president ronald reagan
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