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noted after visiting the Berlin Wall that "At the Brandenburg Gate, one can clearly see how much strength and true heroism the defense of the first socialist state on German soil requires against the attacks of the class enemy."

Reagan was undeterred.  He was anxious to make a statement that would echo throughout the West and reverberate behind prison gates in the East. His goal was to put freedom on the offensive and into the heart of the tottering Soviet empire.

Scheduled to attend the Venice Economic Summit in Italy, the President received an invitation from Helmut Kohl to deliver an address during Berlin's 750th anniversary. Reagan had found the opening he was seeking.  Initially, the old Reichstag, which formerly housed the German Parliament, was to be the location for his remarks but Reagan's advance team persuaded the skeptical West Berlin officials that the event should be staged in front of the visually impressive and politically sensitive Brandenburg Gate.   Reagan knew it was a provocative location that suited his objectives well.

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