By Mike Deering, USGC Director of Communications
World history is not only fascinating because of what transpired many years ago, but what continues to occur today as a result of yesterday’s efforts. I was in second grade when the Berlin Wall fell to the ground, so I don’t recall too much about it and I certainly didn’t absorb the significance of the event at eight years old. Nov. 9, 2009, marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain. The wall was a concrete barrier built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) completely enclosing the city of West Berlin, separating it from East Germany, including East Berlin. The wall amounted to a division of families and pure isolation from the rest of the world, which contributed to a decrease in family incomes, hunger and a restriction in the free and open transfer of goods and services. The wall is an example of a physical trade barrier rather than those we are dealing with today that are policy and regulatory driven. The 96 mile long wall interrupted 32 railway lines between the East and the West. On the waterways, the wall consisted of submerged railings under constant surveillance by patrol boat crews, which prevented any transfer of goods between the East and West. The plan repressed private trade and created supply gaps behind the Iron Curtain, which became increasingly severe and oppressive. During a revolutionary wave sweeping across the Eastern Bloc, the East German government announced on Nov. 9, 1989, after several weeks of civil unrest, that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans reportedly climbed onto and crossed over the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in celebration. Over the next few weeks, parts of the wall were chipped away by a euphoric public and by souvenir hunters; industrial equipment was later used to remove almost all of the rest. The fall of the wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on Oct. 3, 1990. When the wall fell, it literally released roughly 300 million people into the global marketplace in search of opportunity and a better standard of living. As opportunities were found and incomes started to grow, an explosive demand for food occurred, which increased overall global demand for U.S. grains and other agricultural commodities. Consumers suddenly had access to goods and services that hadn’t been available behind the Iron Curtain; and for the first time in decades, entrepreneurs were able to start their own companies. Along with these economic changes, at least in most of the countries, came elections and the potential for democracy.

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