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The Year that Changed the World: The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall

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More than anything else, Michael Meyer seeks to challenge the perception that the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 primarily due to the policies of the United States and Ronald Reagan. Meyer, a former Newsweek correspondent who reported on the demise of Communism throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, concentrates on the domestic resistance movements that blossomed behind the Iron Curtain. As a result, dissidents such as Vaclav Havel and Lech Walesa feature prominently in his account. However, no one receives more credit for the destruction of the Eastern bloc than Miklos Nemeth.

Nemeth, the Communist prime minister of Hungary who inaugurated a wave of reforms after coming to office in November 1988, made the fateful decision to remove the fence between his country and Austria in the summer of 1989. This move -- which is fittingly characterized by Meyer as pulling the plug out of a sink of water -- facilitated the movement of thousands of East Germans from their country to freedom in the West. Indeed, the discussion of Nemeth is one of the great strengths of the book. Meyer explains how the prime minister and several of his closest associates hoped to make Hungary the first of the eastern bloc nations to remove the Communist Party from power. This, these reformers believed, would allow Hungary to benefit from generous subsidies, credits, and other aid from the West. This plan, of course, did not proceed quite the way these men intended, since Communism collapsed so quickly and completely in only a few months. Thus, Hungary's "head-start" into the West was nullified, and instead the West focused most of its attention on the much more dramatic events of East Germany.

There will be those that disagree with Meyer's interpretation of these events, yet Meyer himself notes that his view was shaped by his time watching (and sometimes participating) in the events in Eastern Europe. Moreover, it is hard to deny that nationalism played a critical role in the events of 1989. Poles, Hungarians, Germans, Czechs, and Slovaks from all walks of life made the conscious decision to defy the authority of the dictatorships that ruled their countries. These decisions were not to be taken lightly, and Meyer occasionally mentions the grave consequences that might result from these actions. Nowhere was this more true than in the last domino to fall: Romania.

This book also rightly stresses the importance of Mikhail Gorbachev to the events of 1989. The Soviet leader made clear to the gerontocracy dominating Eastern Europe that it could no longer rely on Soviet tanks to maintain control. This policy marked a break with the Brezhnev Doctrine established twenty years earlier with the invasion of Prague in 1968 (and has been called the "Sinatra Doctrine" by some historians who saw this is as an indication that the satellites could do it their own way). Without Soviet support, the leaders of Eastern Europe had to be prepared to pursue the "Tienanmen solution" and open fire on their own people to hold on to power. Meyer's discussion of the October protests in the East German city of Leipzig highlights just how close Eastern Europe came to the spilling of blood in the streets.

My one quibble with this book would be that the focus on 1989 obscures the deeper origins of the internal resistance movements in these countries. It is true that Meyer is not an historian, but a more complete discussion of popular protests (1953 in the GDR; 1956 in Poland and Hungary; 1968 in Czechoslovakia; 1980 in Poland) behind the Iron Curtain would be valuable. There are allusions here to Charter 77 and Solidarity, but their work over several years merits more discussion in explaining how the events of 1989 transpired. Additionally, there were those working in a less formal manner to challenge the Communist Party in these countries, particularly those involved with the Church. These criticisms aside, this is an engaging and entertaining read. And hopefully, it will prompt more interested readers to read further on resistance in Eastern Europe.

Meyer begins the book (after a rather rambling section in which he tries, unsuccessfully, to connect his subject to America's current problems) with a description of Reagan's famous speech at the Brandenburg Gate. As someone who was living in Berlin at the time and attended the speech, I can tell you that Meyer makes several errors. For starters, he claims that Reagan was standing in front of the Gate with the Wall visible a hundred yards in the background. Reagan wasn't even a hundred yards from the Gate -- *I* wasn't a hundred yards from the Gate where I was watching from -- and the Wall was between us and the Gate. In fact, the Wall bulged into the West around the Gate, making it much, much closer than the Gate.

Next, Meyer makes the claim that the American flags waved by the crowd had been "planted" by the US embassy. "Planted" is a loaded word. Imagine you're going to a big Fourth of July celebration -- a concert in the park followed by fireworks -- and on your way in you pass a table where people are giving away miniature American flags. Would you say they're planting the flags? Of course not. But that's exactly how the flags were distributed on that day in Berlin.

Then there's Meyer's claim that Berliners were strongly anti-American. Now, I lived in Panama in the early '80s, so I have some idea what it's like when people aren't keen to have Americans around. There was none of that in Berlin. If Meyer wanted to say that Berliners weren't fond of Reagan, that'd be one thing -- though even that, I think, was more pronounced in West Germany proper than Berlin -- but the anti-American claim is over the top.

Finally, I'd like to say something about Meyer's reasoning. At one point he says that the fall of the Berlin Wall could not be the result of historical forces or the weakness of Communism because happenstance played such a large role in events -- i.e., it was miscommunication on the part of an East German official that sent people out to tear down the Wall. This is the fallacy of the excluded middle -- you can have broad historical forces at work, which express themselves through random chance or luck. The fact that happenstance played a role in the way Communism crumbled doesn't mean Communism wouldn't've crumbled, albeit differently, if the situation had been slightly different.

Much of the book deals with the revolutions in other countries of the Warsaw Pact which I don't have first-hand knowledge of, but the errors about Berlin lead me to suspect the accuracy of those parts. But I guess that's what I get for reading a history book by a reporter instead of a reputable historian.

This book, written by a Newsweek magazine writer, reads like a magazine article. Very compact and concise and it gives a good review, if brief, of the events in 1989 and the fall of the Berlin wall. In a addition to describing the events he witnessed he also gives his political opinions. The last few pages were a bit much. On these he rapidly summarizes American foreign policy from George H.W.Bush, Bill Clinton down to George W. with typical talking head cliches.

I read this book in one sitting in a couple of hours,and think it is an absolutely unputdownable must read. A thrilling eye-witness and insider account of the collapse of Communism and the Fall of the Berlin Wall which divided a country and a continent into East and West. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Hollywood snapped up the rights. Life has written an story so unbelievable,so true and unique no scriptwriter can ever concoct. A once in a lifetime true life tale of the fight between good and evil,and the desire for exhilarating feeling that is called freedom. As a Hungarian I was fortunate enough myself to witness this tumultuous and uplifting year. It felt incredible to be a very minute part of it as one of the people, and to see how an entire bloc of nations driven by their desire for freedom, with more than a little help from a few wise men accomplished what was thought to be impossible for decades.
For us,the change was helmed by one man in particular, to whom Mr Meyer dedicates this incredible book,and who emerges as the "hidden hero" of this saga. And that man is no other than our then Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth who is now revealed as secret "Hungarian connection" between East and West,and the driving force behind the transformations and key events which took place in Hungary and other Eastern bloc countries at a breakneck pace. He risked everything, (including his own life) to create a better country for us and a better Europe and world for everyone. I'm so proud that our Harvard educated PM finally gets the credit and recognition he deserves.For, as the author writes, beneath the shy exterior, there was a strong man of steely will and strong convictions who was also a quietly determined and an exceptionally intelligent person. I remember the way he stood up for freedom and peace and spoke out and acted against tyranny,lies,opression,and hatred, showing wisdom, broad-mindedness,sincerity and courage which belied his years All this in a country which was on the brink of ruin and bankruptcy. At that time, at just barely forty years of age he was the youngest PM in the world, which in itself was no mean feat.Faced with the daunting task of putting the economy and the political system right, he refused to become just another grey,obedient,shallow "apparatchik" type of PM and began to work on destroying the Communist party the only way it could be destroyed after the failed events of 1956: from within. Not single-handedly of course, but with fellow local and foreign politicians who shared his views. His enemies tried to engineer his fall, we wanted him to pull through and succeed.Mr Meyer thank you for writing this book and giving Mr Nemeth the recognition he was given all around the world, except here at home. I would say that this book is a must read for everyone here who still has doubts about the crucial role our PM played in bringing about these incredible changes which altered the face of Europe forever. Read and see how the new history of the old continent was "written". This is one book and one year you will never forget. And to the Hungarian protagonist: Mr Nemeth, if you happen to ever read this, thank you for all you've done. You were,and still are amazing.

President Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" exhortation when visiting Berlin in 1987 has long been cited as the call that brought the Cold War to an end. Others credit it to Reagan's military buildup bankrupting the Soviets trying to catch up, a secret agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices (went from $40/barrel in 1980 to less than $9 within nine years) and undercut the Russian economy, or the rise of oppressed people seeking democracy. In "The Year That Changed the World," Meyer instead contends that the U.S.S.R. fell for mostly other reasons - the rise of the Solidarity movement in Poland, the stealth opening of the Hungarian border, the Velvet Revolution in Prague, the collapse of the Berlin Wall (unrelated to Reagan), and the leadership of courageous individuals in Prague (Vaclav Havel), Poland (Lech Walesa and General Jaruzelski), Hungary (Miklos Nemeth), and Russia (Mikhail Gorbachev), and the collapse of oil prices. Meyer also sees our fantasies of 1989 as directly related to America's disaster in Iraq - supposedly all we had to do was confront the Evil One and the people would rise up and throw off their shackles.

The actual opening of the Berlin Wall came at 11:17 P.M., 11/09/1989 during a night of confusion and error at Checkpoint Charlie. Growing numbers of Germans had gathered on both sides after hearing that all East Germans would have the right to a passport. (The new direction was to be implemented the next day, through bureaucratic channels. East Germany's leader, Egon Krenz, had his hand forced by Hungary's prior opening its border with Austria and Czechoslovakia) The guard commander could not get orders from the Interior Ministry, and perhaps had heard that another crossing had just opened up - in any case, he probably had no real choice. When erected in 1961, 1,000/day were fleeing East Germany - both an embarrassment and brain drain.

Prior to this, in late 1988 a small group of communist reformers came to power in Hungary, led by an economist Miklos Nemeth who had spent a year at Harvard. They were confronted by an economy in shambles (30% inflation, per capita debt higher than any other European nation, and a declining standard of living). Nemeth, known as a reformer and a communist party member in good standing, knew he had about 6 months to rid Hungary of communism, else he and reformism would be blamed for the economy and ousted. Hoping to also reap Western investments by being the first Warsaw Pact member to bolt, he quickly cut subsidies for state-owned enterprises, abandoned government price-fixing, and allowed independent political 'clubs.' What stayed the hand of higher Hungarian authorities? Meyer credits uncertainty about how Gorbachev would react. He had already declared his intention to remove 250,000+ troops from Eastern Europe and 10,000 tanks, planes and missiles, declaring that the Warsaw Pact nations would be responsible for themselves. (On the other side, Tienanmen Square gave dissidents reason to temper their moves as well. In addition, Russian troops had recently put down pro-democracy movements in Georgia and Uzbekistan.) ) Nemeth went to Gorbachev and revealed his economic reform plans, reportedly angering Gorbachev, but also heard the Russian Premier declare he would not interfere as in 1956. Nemeth also told of his intention to dismantle deteriorating border fences for 'economic reasons' - could not pay their upkeep, should be done by the Warsaw Pack, but Gorbachev had no funds for that.

In 1981 Poland's General Jaruzelski had squashed Solidarity to avoid an invasion from Soviet forces poised on its border with Russia. In 1989, however, it was suffering from 60% inflation, citizens were living a 'garbage-can' subsistence life, and faced no such threat from Russia. At that point, Jaruzelski, looking for help in belt-tightening and an ability to spread blame for failure, forced Solidarity's inclusion into government and allowed free elections for a limited number of seats. The Communists were trounced, and Jaruzelski accepted the verdict.

Later in 1989 the Warsaw Pact held a meeting that primarily focused on the actions in Hungary. Speaker after speaker railed on about the threat, and called for Gorbachev to take action to preserve their hold. Gorbachev ignored them. Meanwhile, Bush I, thinking Reagan had gone too far, brought in new assistants, including Scowcraft, Rice, Cheney, and Baker. They believed Gorbachev was just a propagandist and wanted to upgrade NATP nukes - just a week prior to the Polish elections, and after Gorbachev's pledge to withdraw forces from Europe. (Gorbachev was seen as a peacemaker in Western Europe.)

The U.S.S.R. was not immune to the economic problems of its satellites. Gorbachev recognized the economic problems confronting the U.S.S.R. and tried to improve with elections and reforms. An Army coup against Gorbachev during his vacation in 1991 was undone by the extremely popular Boris Yeltsin, Gorbachev declined to hold the U.S.S.R. together with force, and on Christmas Day, 1991 all the non-Russian republics seceded, surprising the U.S. and its spy agencies.

Bottom Line: "The Year That Changed the World" is an excellent background on the fall of European Communism, though I have no idea why it took so long to come out. Meanwhile, it's more than a bit disconcerting how misdirected U.S. policies towards Gorbachev et al were at the time; worse yet that some of those making the errors came back into power with Bush II.

If anyone tells you history is dull, ask him to read this book. This is a close narrative of what transpired behind the scenes during the months leading up to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The author urges us not to fall for the neocon fairy tale that it was Ronald Reagen's famous command and Mikhail Gorbechev's gentle compliance that brought the Berlin Wall down, but to understand that it was in fact the gathering groundswell of rebellion tearing apart the already discredited and broken fabric of the Eastern bloc countries as well as the complicit abetment of the former West Germany that finally did it.

Meyer's account of the historic year of 1989 makes riveting reading, almost like a thriller except we know the outcome before we even begin. More importantly, it is written in a clear, systematic and surprisingly unsensational manner which gives credence to the authenticity of Meyer's first hand account of the events in question. His narrative focus runs and rotates from the former East Germany, Hungary and Poland to the former Czechoslovakia and Romania then back again as developments gather speed before the cataclysmic eruption.

Michael Meyer has written an important book that combines relevance with accessibility in the best possible way. It's both educational and interesting. There's really no excuse not to read it.

This book obviously appealed to me. I participated in the Velvet Revoluation and marched through Prague's streets during a week in Prague's Wien. Square. What a blast it was. I remember the store front windows with the 5 minutes to 12 midnight clock symbol. The author doesn't mention that in his book, but it was a symbol that the Communist government was almost finished. I remember the last Communist premier trying to speak in the Sport's stadium and being shouted down. Above all, I remember the jangling of the keys, a protest to the government. The author devotes one chapter to the happenings in Czechoslavakia. He spends the majority of time devoted to East Germany, Poland, and Hungary. I was in East Germany during the same time and watched the crumbling of the East German government. People power and bad mistakes by Communist politicians made these governments collaspe. I think the author has it right when he talks about the collaspe as more of a European thing, than something caused by America.

This is a good analysis of the collaspe of the East European governments. I wished the author has highlighted issues that happened in Bulgaria and Albania also, since both their Communist governments also fell apart during the same time period. Otherwise a flawless description of the behind the scenes manuevering of the politicians and opponents in East Europe.

So much going on in so many places but you are there. The broad outlines of the fall of the Berlin Wall are well known but in this accounting the story of the events is woven like a novel and links brilliantly the unfolding of the transition from communistic dictatorship to democracy across eastern Europe. Michael Meyer is the consummate reporter. His accounting of events through personal conversations gives the reader a sense of sitting in on the meetings and interviews. But Meyer goes beyond mere description and recounting of events. His analysis and assessments of the key players puts the year in perspective to the sweep of history from world war II to the present.

Meyer focuses on the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Romania showing the interrelationship of events and how they played on one another. How did it all come about and who gets the credit for "The fall of the wall"is clearly shown. How did Ronald Reagan's "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" come about. For the want of a nail... is the amazing out come to an incredible faux pas by the head of the GDR in changing East Germany's travel policy.

This fascinating story moves back and forth across eastern Europe in breathless fashion but is told with the hand of a historian.

Mr. Meyer's book is a fascinating testimony of a witness who was there. With intellectual integrity he offers a caveat reminding the reader, he could not be everywhere.

The book is also a sad and alarming testimony to The USA's unfinished symphony of failure and incompetence in foreign policy. Mr. Meyer quotes George Schultz, who wrote "The Bush (the father-zj) administration did not understand or accept that the Cold War was over. Mr. Meyer concludes that James Baker failed to read the map. Alas, my favorite definition of USA's foreign policy quoted in the book belongs to the Solidarity activist Adam Mishnik who said "America is sleepwalking through history".

Looking at the incompetent approach of US policy towards the "Arab Siring", the escalating of extreme Islam, the developing of the new Putin dictatorship in Russia , and US inability to address Iran, lead me to conclude that Sdam Mishnik is still right. the USA is still sleepwalking.

A most enjoyable book, I recommend it.

It's a great story that shows hidden realities and actors that significantly influenced the events that changed the world. The Hungarian leadership, with its low profile and commitment, will certainly have an appreciation of the story better than they have received to date.

Recommended for anyone who wants to know the details of these momentous events that changed the history of twentieth century