Übersetzt von Jessica Wood

His call for Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall earned Ronald Reagan enormous and lasting popularity. But 1987 was by no means the first time that Reagan had set foot in the divided city. Indeed, he had previously traveled there in 1978 and 1982, and his appearance in 1987 would not be his last.

In this essay, Jens Schöne explores the visits of the 40th President of the United States to Berlin. The historian investigates both the background and consequences of these events. Reagan’s visit to East Berlin is analyzed just as critically as that of June 1982, which foreshadowed much of what was to cause global excitement five years later. It considers the mixed reactions among West Berlin’s population as well as the East German Ministry for State Security, which naturally took a keen interest in events and attempted to influence them.

© Fanny Heidenreich

Jens Schöne

Jens Schöne, Dr. phil., geboren 1970, studierte Neuere und Neueste Geschichte sowie Anglistik und Amerikanistik an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. 2004 wurde er an der Freien Universität Berlin promoviert. Er ist Stellvertretender Landesbeauftragter für die Stasi-Unterlagen in Berlin und seit 2007 Lehrbeauftragter an der Humboldt-Universität.

Jens Schöne, Dr. phil., born in 1970, studied Modern and Contemporary History as well as English and American Studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 2004 he obtained his doctorate from the Free University of Berlin. Since 2007 he has been Deputy State Commissioner for the Stasi Files in Berlin and a lecturer at the Humboldt University. He has written numerous publications on German history in the twentieth century, especially on the economic and social history of the GDR and the history of Berlin.

Jessica Wood

Jessica Wood schloss 2016 ihre Promotion in Germanistik und Italianistik an der University of Birmingham ab. Seitdem arbeitet sie als freiberufliche Übersetzerin mit besonderem Interesse an der europäischen Literatur und Geschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts. Sie übersetzt aus dem Deutschen und Italienischen ins Englische. Zudem ist sie in Teilzeit für einen Abgeordneten des britischen Parlaments tätig.

Jessica Wood completed her PhD in German Studies and Italian Studies at the University of Birmingham in 2016. Since then, she has worked as a freelance translator with a particular interest in twentieth-century European literature and history. She translates from German and Italian into English. She also works part-time for an MP in the UK.

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