Editing Brandenburg Gate (section)

==Political history==
[[File:President Ronald Reagan making his Berlin Wall speech.jpg|thumb|[[Ronald Reagan]] speaking at the gate section of the [[Berlin Wall]] on 12 June 1987, challenging [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] to "[[tear down this wall!]]"]]
{{Listen
|filename    = Reagan Brandenburg Gate speech.ogg
|title       = ''Tear down this wall''
|description = Complete speech by [[Ronald Reagan]] at the Brandenburg Gate, 12 June 1987
|format      = [[Ogg]]}}
A [[Soviet flag]] flew from a flagpole atop the gate from 1945 until 1957, when it was replaced by an [[Flag of East Germany|East German flag]]. Since the reunification of Germany in 1990, the flag and the pole have been removed. During the 1953 riots in East Berlin the Soviet flag was torn off by West Germans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMzcpPMRHe8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211106/vMzcpPMRHe8| archive-date=6 November 2021 | url-status=live|title=Dramatic Scenes – Berlin Riots (1953)|last=British Pathé|date=13 April 2014|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 1963, U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]] visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large red banners across it to prevent him looking into East Berlin.

In the 1980s, decrying the existence of two German states and two Berlins, West Berlin mayor [[Richard von Weizsäcker]] said: "The German Question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/061287d.htm |title=Remarks on East-West Relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |access-date=9 January 2015 |archive-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115203043/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/061287d.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 12 June 1987, U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] spoke to the West Berlin populace at the Brandenburg Gate, demanding the razing of the Berlin Wall.<ref>{{cite news |title=Remembering Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech 25 years later |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remembering-reagans-tear-down-this-wall-speech-25-years-later/ |work=[[CBS News]] |date=12 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lessons from Reagan after "Tear down this wall" speech |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lessons-from-reagan-after-tear-down-this-wall-speech/ |work= CBS News |date=12 June 2012}}</ref>  Addressing the [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]], [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], Reagan said, {{blockquote|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]]!}}

On 25 December 1989, less than two months after the Berlin Wall began to come down, the conductor [[Leonard Bernstein]] conducted the [[Berlin Philharmonic]] in a version of the [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ninth Symphony]] of [[Beethoven]] at the then newly opened Brandenburg Gate.  In the concluding choral movement of the symphony, the "Ode to Joy", the word ''Freude'' ("Joy") was replaced with ''Freiheit'' ("Freedom") to celebrate the fall of the Wall and the imminent reunification of Germany.

On 2–3 October 1990, the Brandenburg Gate was the scene of the official ceremony to mark the reunification of Germany.  At the stroke of midnight on 3 October, the [[flag of Germany|black-red-gold flag of West Germany]]—now the flag of a reunified Germany—was raised over the gate.

On 12 July 1994, U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] spoke at the Brandenburg Gate about peace in post–Cold War Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/ga6-940712.htm|title = "Berlin is free!" President Clinton Brandenburg Gate, Berlin. July 1994}}</ref>

On 9 November 2009, Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] walked through the Brandenburg Gate with Russia's [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and Poland's [[Lech Wałęsa]] as part of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/germany-celebrates-fall-of-the-berlin-wall/ |title=Germany Celebrates Fall of the Berlin Wall |work=FoxNews |date=9 November 2009 |access-date=31 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029121425/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2009/11/09/germany-celebrates-fall-berlin-wall/ |archive-date=29 October 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/world/2009/11/09/fall-berlin-wall#slide=28 |title=Fall of the Berlin Wall [slides/captions] |work=FoxNews |date=9 November 2009 |access-date=31 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027105519/http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/world/2009/11/09/fall-berlin-wall#slide=28 |archive-date=27 October 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 13 August 2011, Germany marked the 50th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall began construction with a memorial service and a minute of silence in memory of those who died trying to flee to the West.  "It is our shared responsibility to keep the memory alive and to pass it on to the coming generations as a reminder to stand up for freedom and democracy to ensure that such injustice may never happen again," Berlin Mayor [[Klaus Wowereit]] said.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel—who grew up behind the wall in Germany's communist eastern part—also attended the commemoration. German President [[Christian Wulff]] added, "It has been shown once again: Freedom is invincible at the end. No wall can permanently withstand the desire for freedom."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8699626/Germany-marks-50th-anniversary-of-Berlin-Wall.html |title=Germany marks 50th anniversary of Berlin Wall |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=13 August 2011 |access-date=13 August 2011 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/germany-marks-construction-of-the-berlin-wall/ |title=Germany Marks Construction of the Berlin Wall |agency=Associated Press |date=13 August 2011 |access-date=13 August 2011 |work=Fox News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/news/2011/08/11/reflecting-on-the-berlin-wall-50-years-after-its-construction/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125070351/http://www.history.com/news/2011/08/11/reflecting-on-the-berlin-wall-50-years-after-its-construction/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 January 2013 |title=Reflecting on the Berlin Wall, 50 Years After Its Construction |publisher=History.com |date=11 August 2011 |access-date=13 August 2011 }}</ref>

On 19 June 2013, U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] spoke at the Gate about nuclear arms reduction and the recently revealed U.S. internet surveillance activities.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/19/obama-berlin-speech-nuclear-arms | location=London | work=The Guardian | first1=Dan | last1=Roberts | first2=Kate | last2=Connolly | title=Obama calls for reduction in nuclear arms in broad-brush Berlin speech | date=19 June 2013}}</ref>

On the night of 5 January 2015, the lights illuminating the gate were completely shut off in protest against a protest held by far-right anti-Islamic group [[Pegida]].<ref>[[Tagesspiegel]]: [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/polizei-justiz/berliner-pegida-protestiert-in-mitte-baergida-und-gegendemonstrationen-beendet/11186364.html Bärgida und Gegendemonstration beendet (in German)], 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015</ref><ref>[[Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg|RBB]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20150513033536/http://www.rbb-online.de/politik/beitrag/2015/01/bergida-pegida-berlin-brandenburger-tor-gegendemo.html Licht aus am Brandenburger Tor (in German)] "Lights off at Brandenburg Gate", 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015</ref><ref>Storify: [https://storify.com/reportedly/anti-islamization-rally-in-germany-met-with-countr Anti-islamization rally in Germany met with countrywide protests], 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015</ref>

In April 2017, ''[[Die Zeit]]'' noted that the gate was not illuminated in Russian colours after the [[2017 Saint Petersburg Metro bombing]]. The gate was previously illuminated after attacks in Jerusalem and Orlando. The Berlin Senate only allows the gate to be illuminated for events in partner cities and cities with a special connection to Berlin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/zeitgeschehen/2017-04/berlin-brandenburger-tor-anschlag-st-petersburg-farben-russland|title=Berlin: Für St. Petersburg leuchtet das Brandenburger Tor nicht}}</ref>

In February 2022, the gate was lit up with the colours of the [[Flag of Ukraine|Ukrainian flag]], during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. A [[candlelight vigil]] was also held in front of the gate on the 31st [[Independence Day of Ukraine]].<ref name="EuNe2022">{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/08/25/in-pictures-europe-celebrates-ukraine-independence-day |title=In pictures: Europe celebrates Ukraine Independence Day |last=Askew |first=Joshua |publisher=[[euronews]] |date=2 August 2022|access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref><ref name="DS2022">{{cite web|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/gallery/world-marks-ukraines-independence-day-amid-war/images |title=World marks Ukraine's Independence Day amid war |publisher=Daily Sabah |date=25 August 2022|access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref>

On October 7 2023, the gate was lit up with the [[Flag of Israel|flag of Israel]], after the [[October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Brandenburg Gate in Berlin lights up with Israeli flag in solidarity |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/brandenburg-gate-in-berlin-lights-up-with-israeli-flag-in-solidarity/ |website=timesofisrael.com |publisher=Times of Israel |access-date=2025-05-06}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180" caption="Illuminations for expressions of solidarity of the German people">
File:Brandenburg Gate in French flag colours after Paris attack (23028317551).jpg|Lit up with the colours of the [[French flag]] after the [[November 2015 Paris attacks]]
File: Brandenburg Gate lit up in Belgian flag colors to show solidarity.jpg|Lit up with the colours of the [[Belgian flag]] after the [[2016 Brussels bombings]]
File:Ukraine solidarity protest Berlin Pariser Platz with lighted Brandenburg Gate 2022-02-24 07.jpg|Lit up in the colours of the [[Ukrainian flag]] during a solidarity protest, 24 February 2022
</gallery>