I snapped the above photo 24 years ago, in 1987, from a hillside north of the town of Hof, in what was then called West Germany. If you look close, and know your history, you know exactly what you are looking at. I share this photo today because of something else that occurred twenty-four years ago. Twenty-four years ago today as a matter of fact. On this day, in what was once called West Berlin, President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech that would define his legacy. In that speech, six words resonated… “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
As most know, the wall not only divided Berlin, it divided an entire country. This photo shows how it was, twenty-four years ago when I worked there. In case it is not obvious, Soviet controlled East Germany is to the left (the DDR as it was called - Deutsche Demokratische Republik) and free Germany, West Germany, is to the right.
