Ronald Reagan in Berlin (Jens Schöne)

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.

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 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.

Buch (Paperback), Großformatiges Paperback. Klappenbroschur, Englisch, 56 Seiten