Reagan tells Gorbachev to 'tear down this wall' at Brandenburg Gate before 45,000 West Berliners

President Ronald Reagan delivers a speech at the Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987, directly challenging Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Reagan demands the dismantling of the Berlin Wall as a test of Soviet commitment to reform. The speech occurs before an audience of 45,000 in West Berlin, with East German guards visible on the far side of the Wall. Reagan's challenge crystallizes the U.S. commitment to a reunified, free Germany and foreshadows the Wall's fall two years later in November 1989.