Since families and friends had been separated by the Berlin Wall Erected that year by the East German government the barrier kept its citizens from fleeing to West Germany In fact from to the day the structure was built it rsquo s estimated that more than million East Germans had bolted to the West US President Ronald Reagan stood at the wall in and famously said ldquo Tear down this wall rdquo His words reflected a groundswell of change in the region that culminated with the wall being torn down in mdash leading to Germany rsquo s joyous reunification Paul [... more]

On this episode of Our American Stories Lawson Bader pays tribute to his late German teacher Erika for our Final Thoughts series Support the show https www ouramericanstories com donate See omnystudio com listener for privacy information [... more]

In pastor Christian F uuml hrer began Monday prayer meetings at Leipzig rsquo s St Nicholas Church For years a handful gathered to ask God for peace amid global violence and the oppressive East German regime Though communist authorities watched churches closely they were unconcerned until attendance swelled and spilled over to mass meetings outside the church gates On October seventy thousand demonstrators met and peacefully protested Six thousand East German police stood ready to respond to any provocation The crowd remained peaceful however and historians consider this day a watershed moment A month later the Berlin Wall fell The [... more]

On this episode of Our American Stories Lawson Bader pays tribute to his late German teacher Erika for our Final Thoughts series Support the show https www ouramericanstories com donate See omnystudio com listener for privacy information [... more]