In central and eastern Europe, communist governments also faced protests. Since nineteen eighty-seven, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had let countries in the Warsaw Pact experiment with political and economic reforms.
But those reforms were not enough to stop the fall of communist governments in one country after another.
In the summer of nineteen eighty-nine, President Bush visited Hungary and Poland. Both nations were trying to develop free-market economies. Both were suffering as they moved away from central control.
(AUDIO: Polish Solidarity Union demonstrators singing)
In Poland the leader of the Solidary trade union, Lech Walesa, led the push for reform.
(AUDIO: Walesa addressing rally in Polish)
He would later become president of a democratic Poland.
[MONTAGE: BERLIN WALL]
(AUDIO: West German “Tagesschau” television evening news program anchor announcing opening of Berlin Wall; car horns; crowds at wall)
November of nineteen eighty-nine brought a dramatic expression of the changes taking place in eastern Europe.
On November ninth, East Germany opened the wall that had divided it from the West since nineteen sixty-one.
ANNOUNCER (over ABC New Theme): “From ABC, this is World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, reporting tonight from Berlin.”
PETER JENNINGS: “From the Berlin Wall specifically. Take a look at them. They’ve been there since last night. They are here in the thousands; they are here in the tens of thousands. Occasionally they shout ‘Die Mauer muss weg!’ – the Wall must go!
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