Fall of the Berlin Wall III: Compelling Video Images from the Archives of History

As President Obama chooses to turn his back to the West and face the East, we are posting this excellent video from the Competitive Enterprise Institute about the Berlin Wall in honor of the thousands of ordinary Europeans who never gave up thinking about and working for freedom for themselves and their families. The leaders--local, national, and international--who believed in what seemed impossible at the time, never gave up their hope for change. What would have ended up as a week or two of news and celebration on the 20th anniverary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, was almost immediately overshadowed by the most unfortunate timing of President Obama's trip to Asia.

This film reminds us of the sorrow of divided families when the wall was built, the increasingly desperate attempts to escape East Germany over time, and the joy when the wall was torn down. The filmaker, Drew Tidwell, took all the footage from video freely available at Yoube. Tidwell--who boasts a long line of film credits from the fun-loving Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian to the more serious Law and Order: Special Victims Unit--did a meticulous search of existing footage, remarking "I went to German news feeds from that day, US news feeds and the doc footage was gathered from searching Berlin wall and escapes, Berlin Wall reagan, Berlin Wall Building, etc." Further explaining the video, Tidwell added, "We made this video because it was one of the biggest moments for freedom in the world. It needs to be celebrated and never forgotten."