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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, November 9, 2013, marks the 24th anniversary of the |
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fall of the Berlin Wall, a turning point in 20th century |
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geopolitics; and |
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WHEREAS, In the depths of the Cold War, on August 13, 1961, |
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the communist government of East Germany began building a barbed |
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wire and concrete "Antifaschistischer Schutzwall," or "antifascist |
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bulwark," between East and West Berlin; the official purpose of |
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this barrier was to keep Westerners from entering and undermining |
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the socialist state, but it primarily served to stem mass |
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defections by disillusioned residents of East Berlin; and |
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WHEREAS, East German officials completed the wall in two |
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weeks and eventually replaced the makeshift barrier with a |
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12-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide mass of reinforced concrete topped with |
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an enormous pipe that was nearly impossible to climb over; behind |
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the structure, they established a floodlit no-man's-land called the |
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"Death Strip," which was guarded by vicious dogs, trip-wire machine |
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guns, and soldiers with orders to shoot on sight; and |
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WHEREAS, Determined to free the victims of evil oppression, |
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President Ronald Reagan joined with British Prime Minister Margaret |
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Thatcher and Pope John Paul II in the effort to defeat communism; |
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President Reagan traveled to West Germany and on June 12, 1987, in a |
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heroic speech delivered at the storied Brandenburg Gate, about 100 |
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yards from the Berlin Wall, he delivered a stirring challenge to the |
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Soviet leader with the exhortation, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this |
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wall"; and |
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WHEREAS, At the time, some officials and foreign policy |
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pundits decried President Reagan's words as too bold and |
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provocative, but the speech bolstered the morale of many |
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pro-democracy advocates in the Eastern Bloc; the protests known as |
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the "Peaceful Revolution" broke out in East Germany in September |
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1989, and as more than one million people took to the streets, the |
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communist East German minister of propaganda announced that the |
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border would be opened; thousands of celebrants flooded the |
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checkpoints at the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, and that |
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weekend, ecstatic East and West Berliners used hammers and picks to |
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knock away pieces of the wall while cranes and bulldozers pulled |
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down section after section; and |
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WHEREAS, The fall of the Berlin Wall not only reunited a great |
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European city for the first time since 1945 but symbolized the end |
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of the Cold War and the triumph of democracy over communism; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 24th anniversary of the fall of |
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the Berlin Wall and encourage all Texans to reflect on the |
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significance of this pivotal event in modern history. |
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Price |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 2815 was adopted by the House on May |
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26, 2013, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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