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When the impossible became possible...The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 remains the most powerful symbol of the fall of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. However, it was just one moment in the powerful, grass roots overthrow of communist regimes at that time. For Christians it was a miraculous answer to prayer for the millions praying for persecuted and brutally repressed fellow believers across the communist world.
In September 1989, the Polish people had overthrown their communist government, followed by the Hungarians in October, before the East Germans forced the opening of the east/west German border in November. In December Czechoslovakia's communist regime was defeated and that same month, the leaders of the two world superpowers, US President George Bush and USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev, declared an end to the Cold War. Those were momentous days. The opening of the Berlin Wall in particular took everyone – even the border guards – by surprise. Due to a miscommunication, a televised broadcast announced the immediate official opening of the checkpoints. Thousands of East Germans rushed through the gates; some just for the joy of getting to the other side and coming back again, others to celebrate in freedom with fellow Berliners and estranged family. |
Seven years previously, during the tenure of USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev, Open Doors had launched a seven-year campaign of prayer for the USSR. At that point, almost one-third of the world's population lived in communist states and communism was the greatest perceived threat for the remaining, mostly Western, countries. The power of this Soviet-inspired communism seemed almost invincible. However, within five years, USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev had introduced both economic and social reforms across the Soviet Union; but the speed and, in particular, the suddenness of the 1989 collapse of Eastern European communism took even praying Christians by surprise. 
