On November 8, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Atlantic Council hosted the Freedom’s Challenge dinner and awards ceremony.  Held at Berlin’s Hotel Adlon, the event was attended by government, military, business and cultural leaders from across the Atlantic Alliance.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered the evening’s keynote address.  In recognition of their fights for democracy and liberty, the Atlantic Council presented Freedom Awards to:

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on behalf of the American people
• President Lech Walesa, on behalf of the Polish people
• President Vaclav Havel, on behalf of the Czech and Slovak peoples (in absentia)
• Admiral James Stavridis, on behalf of NATO troops
  
• Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle, on behalf of the German people
• Mayor Klaus Wowereit, on behalf of the people of Berlin

Media Coverage:

• Clinton praises Germany on Berlin Wall tour – AP, Matthew Lee
• Clinton Takes Aim at ‘Walls of the 21st Century’ in Berlin – Speigel, Christopher Lawton
• Merkel, Brown, Sarkozy Mark 20 Years After Fall of Berlin Wall – Bloomberg, Patrick Donahue
• Clinton: Berlin Wall festivities not just a party – AP, Matthew Lee
• With concerts and memorials, Germany celebrates the day the Berlin Wall came crashing down – AP, Matt Moore
• Clinton Urges Europeans to Bring Down “Walls” of Terrorism, Oppression – VOA News, David Gollust
• Germany Marks 20th Anniversary of Collapse of Berlin Wall – VOA News, Sonja Pace
• Germany celebrates fall of Berlin Wall – AP
• Atlantic Council awards Havel in appreciation of Czechs, Slovaks – Czech News Agency
• Hillary Clinton to represent US at Berlin Wall – AP
• Clinton to attend Wall anniversary ceremonies – AFP
• Clinton to visit storm-hit Philippines – AFP, Lachlan Carmichael
• Hillary Clinton To Lead U.S. Delegation At Berlin Wall – Politics Daily, Christopher Weber
• Clinton To Begin Europe-Asia Tour Sunday – RTTNews

Blogger Reactions:

• Clinton calls fall of Berlin Wall a ‘call to action’ – Foreign Policy, Madam Secretary, Preeti Aroon
• Clinton pushes for cooperation on confronting extremism – Reuters, Front Row Washington, David Alexander
• Berlin ‘divided’ again to mark fall of Berlin Wall (Roundup) – DPA
• The OSCE: Making Multilateralism Work – Global Engagement, James Ketterer
• The Year of Resistance – Capitol Hill Cubans

Institutional Coverage:

• Travel Diary: Secretary Clinton Receives Freedom Award From Atlantic Council – Dipnote: U.S. Department of State Official Blog
• Freedom’s Challenge – From the Bridge: SACEUR’s Blog, Admiral James Stavridis
• Gratitude for German reunification – Federal Foreign Office of Germany
• Freedom Award for NATO Troops – NATO
• U.S. Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall – U.S. Embassy in Poland
  
• Secretary Clinton Meets with Embassy Personnel and Their Families – U.S. Department of State
• Remarks With German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle – U.S. Department of State
• President Ilves at Freedom’s Challenge Awards Ceremony, Berlin – President of the Republic of Estonia
• President Ilves to participate in celebrating 20th anniversary of fall of Berlin Wall – President of the Republic of Estonia

German Language Coverage:

• Feiern zum Jahrestag des Mauerfalls – DPA
• Clinton ruft zum Jahrestag des Mauerfalls zum Blick nach vorn auf – AP
• Merkel bei Mauerfall-Feiern: “Was wir erlebt haben, sollte uns Mut machen” – Spiegel
• Clinton ruft zur Verteidigung der Freiheit auf – Handelsblatt
• Mit der Eröffnung der Domino-Galerie läuft der Countdown für das Fest der Freiheit – Berliner Morgenpost
• Merkel empfängt Clinton im Kanzleramt (Mit Bildern) – Berlin Online
• Merkel: Einheit “noch nicht vollendet” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Freedom’s Challenge Publication:

A commemorative publication to mark the occasion, Freedom’s Challenge, was launched at the dinner.  Freedom’s Challenge provides analysis on the enduring significance of the Berlin Wall’s fall, German reunification, the peaceful end of the Cold War, the expansion of NATO and the spread of Euro-Atlantic values.

The publication features contributions from leading Atlanticists, political and military leaders and leading commentators and writers, including:

• Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
• George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
• Helmut Kohl, former German Chancellor (1982-1998)
• Margaret Thatcher, former UK Prime Minister (1979-1990)
• Chuck Hagel, Chairman, Atlantic Council
• Fred Kempe, President & CEO, Atlantic Council
• Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former German Foreign Minister
• Horst M. Teltschik, former National Security Advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl
• James Jones, National Security Advisor to President Obama
• Colin Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State; former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Thomas Enders, President and CEO, AIRBUS  
• Lord Robertson, former NATO Secretary-General
• Lord Douglas Hurd of Westwell, former UK Foreign Secretary
• Josef Ackermann, CEO, Deutsche Bank
• Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush
• Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter
• Peter Schneider, journalist; author of The Wall Jumper
• Adam Michnik, a Solidarity leader; founding editor of Gazeta Wyborcza
• Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal, The Fourth Protocol
• Richard Burt, U.S. Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, 1985–1989
• Frederick Taylor, historian; author of Dresden and The Berlin Wall
• David Marsh, founder member, German-British Forum
• Michael Dobbs, former foreign correspondent, Washington Post; Cold-War historian
• Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State
•  Klaus Naumann, former Chairman, NATO Military Committee
• Tennent H. Bagley, author of Spy Wars: Moles, Mysteries and Deadly Games; former deputy head of CIA counterintelligence against the Soviet Bloc
• Barry R. McCaffrey, Atlantic Council Executive Committee
• Kevin Rosner, Senior Fellow, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security
• Charles F. “Chuck” Wald, Former Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command
• David Catarious, Analyst and Project Director, CNN
• Sherri Goodman, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, CNA
• Mathew J. Burrows, Director of the Analysis and Production Staff, National Intelligence Council
• Julian Lindley-French, Member, Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group; Special Professor of Strategic Studies, University of Leiden; Eisenhower Professor of Defence Strategy, Netherlands Defence Academy; Senior Associate Fellow, United Kingdom Defence Academy
• Hans Binnendijk, Theodore Roosevelt Chair in National Security Policy and Founding Director of the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, National Defense University
• Kori Schake, Research Fellow, Hoover Institution; Associate Professor of International Security Studies, United States Military Academy
• Jamie Shea, Head Policy Planning, Private Office, NATO Secretary General
• John Kirton, Director, G8 Research Group
• Chris Donnelly, Director, Institute for Statecraft and Governance
• Shuja Nawaz,  Director, South Asia Center, Atlantic Council
• Mihaela Carstei, Assistant Director, Energy and Environment Program, Atlantic Council
• David Phillips, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
• Damon Wilson, Vice President and Director, International Security Program, Atlantic Council

 
Photo credit: Elke A. Jung-Wolff.