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In West Germany and here in Berlin, there took place an economic miracle,
the Wirtschaftswunder. Adenauer, Erhard, Reuter, and other leaders understood the
practical importance of liberty--that just as truth can flourish only when the
journalist is given freedom of speech, so prosperity can come about only when the
farmer and businessman enjoy economic freedom. The German leaders reduced
tariffs, expanded free trade, lowered taxes. From 1950 to 1960 alone, the standard
of living in West Germany and Berlin doubled.
Where four decades ago there was rubble, today in West Berlin there is the
greatest industrial output of any city in Germany--busy office blocks, fine homes
and apartments, proud avenues, and the spreading lawns of parkland. Where a city's
culture seemed to have been destroyed, today there are two great universities,
orchestras and an opera, countless theaters, and museums. Where there was want,
today there's abundance--food, clothing, automobiles--the wonderful goods of the
Ku'damm. From devastation, from utter ruin, you Berliners have, in freedom, rebuilt
a city that once again ranks as one of the greatest on earth. The Soviets may have
had other plans. But my friends, there were a few things the Soviets didn't count on-
-Berliner Herz, Berliner Humor, ja, und Berliner Schnauze. [Berliner heart, Berliner
humor, yes, and a Berliner Schnauze.]
In the 1950s, Khrushchev predicted: "We will bury you." But in the West
today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being
unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure,
technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most
basic kind--too little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself.
After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and
inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient
hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.
And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to
understand the importance of freedom. We hear much from Moscow about a new
policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Certain