Brandenburg Gate
By: Andrew Seibert
Creation of the gate
Napoleons thievery
Napoleon and his grand army took over Berlin in 1806, in what was formerly known as Prussia. Napoleon wanted to the send the "Quadriga" to Paris and it was quickly taken apart and sent there. The "Quadriga" was long forgotten in storage until the Prussians took over Paris in 1814. Then it was sent back to Prussia and an iron cross was added to show the defeat of France.
Nazi ruling
Nazi ruling
Adolf Hitler in January 30, 1933 took over Germany he became the new chancellor. A parade was held where Nazi stormtroopers and SS soldiers cheered as Adolf was taken through the gate to the Presidential Palace for the Jewish community it meant defeat and for those that supported the Nazi party victory . The gate was heavily damaged during the bombing from the Allied forces during the war, fortunately the gate and the "Quadriga" survived.
Kennedy's speech
Two years after the wall was built John F. Kennedy gave one of the most famous speeches of his presidency to over a crowd of 120,000 West German civilians. His most famous speech which included in German his famous line "Ich bin ein Berliner" which in English means "I am a Berliner" that showed that America is behind West Germany.
Ronald Reagan's famous line
President Ronald Reagan in 1987 asked Soviet leader Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall while standing in front of the gate. This line from his speech was controversial because people in his administration thought it would cause embarrassment to Gorbachev, who was friendly with Reagan.