August 12 marked the 20th anniver-sary of the infamous Berlin Wall which free nations can only view as a monument to tyranny and deprivation of liberty. First appearance as a chain link fence, the wall also was intended to prevent East Berliners from commuting to jobs in West Berlin. thus depleting the labor supply in the East. The divided Berlin – a consequence of World War Il – became a major “cold war” issue in the postwar period. “Thewall was erected at a time of heightened tension between the United States, Great Britain, France and West Germany on the one side and the USSR and East Germany on the other. West Berlin became an escape hatch for Germans fleeing East Germany. In July 1961 alone, more than 30,0tll persons sought refuge in the West. Thousands of families were separated as a result of the border closing that year. After 1963 limited passazge between East and West was allowed on various holidays. Today, aa in the beginning, the wall stands as a symbol of a divided city and a divided political philosophy. Rep. William Dannemeyer, R-Calif., tool: note of the anniversary in Congreu, asserting that the wall’s main purpose oontinues to be “containment of thousands of East Germans dissatisfied with life under communish.” 1-le continued: “The fact that the Communist government of East Germany, backed by the Soviet Union. should have to put up a wall speaks louder than any words on the human bankruptcy of their communistic system. “That action said then, and it says now, that if given the choice between coercive egalitarianism and economic liberty, Communist rulers will always choose the former and their communlstic system. “That action said then, and it says now, that if given the choice between coercive egalitarianism and economic liberty, Communist nilers will always choose the former and their subjects the latter.” “lt also reinforced the lesson of Hungary in 1956. which was repeated in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and Afghanistan in 1979, that Communist powers will do whatever is necessary, irrespective of world opinion, to protect what they perceive to be their vital interests.” The chain of events has revelgance today in Poland where workers have been struggling for rights taken for granted in free nations. The possibility of Soviet Union intervention raises continual apprehensions. The anniversary is a time for sober reflection on the causes. philosophies and consequences of the Berlin Wall and on Free World blessings of being able to come and go without the restrictions of such barriers. 7 7 V