Michael Reagan is chairman of the "Reagan Legacy Foundation,” which seeks to advance the causes President Ronald Reagan held dear, and also to memorialize the accomplishments of his Presidency. Among the charitable activities the Foundation engages in is funding scholarships for worthy sailors aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. The Foundation is also focused and active in support of adoption, and its purposes include support for Alzheimer’s research and educational institutions such as Eureka College, where President Reagan received his degree.

 

A project the Foundation is now focused on is funding a fitting memorial in Berlin of one of President Reagan's most important speeches. On June 12, 1987, President Reagan visited a still-divided Berlin to participate in ceremonies commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. President Reagan took advantage of the occasion to deliver a speech at the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of the City of Berlin and a central crossing from West to East. The speech was audible on the East side of the Berlin Wall. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was present on the podium.

 

“General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”

 

President Reagan'sspeech in Berlin was internationally hailed as an important statement for the reunification of Berlin. In just over two years from the speech, the Wall did come down, and the Brandenburg Gate was opened for free travel. The communist government of East Germany fell.

 

The people of Berlin are thankful for President Reagan’s speech and his two visits to Berlin during his presidency. Near the place where President Reagan gave his speech, the Berlin Senate has placed a simple plaque reciting the entire history of the Brandenburg Gate, which includes a few words about President Reagan’s part in its history.

 

But there is no truly fitting memorial in Berlin to the legacy of Ronald Reagan, unlike President John F. Kennedy, whose support for Berlin after the Wall was erected in 1961 is evident in various places in the city, such as "John-F.-Kennedy-Platz," and at the Free University of Berlin, where an Institute is named for JFK.

 

President Reagan’s speech in Berlin is an iconic statement of his Presidency. His words came to pass. There is no longer a divide between East and West epitomized by the Berlin Wall. For this reason, our Foundation seeks to work with the people of Berlin to erect an appropriate monument of Ronald Reagan and his support for the freedom of Berliners.