2.2K views · 33 reactions | The Grand Hotel is turning 30. On 1 August 1987 the East German leader Erich Honecker opened the new luxury hotel in East Berlin. The five star hotel is said to have cost around 200 million West German marks. This is what it looked like back then: Photo courtesy: Bundesarchiv / Heinz Jung (1987) | DW Euromaxx | Facebook

President Reagan’s words about freedom and security in 1987 previewed historic change. Two years later, in November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. In the months that followed, President H.W. Bush, Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and other leaders worked to achieve a unified Germany within NATO. President Bush often said that seeing Germany and Europe become “whole and free” was among the most rewarding work of his presidency. Then, as now, freedom is not given. Freedom demands commitment. | U.S. Embassy Be