“Things are going very, very well. I am in Berlin. There were one million people here last night at the very spot where the Wall used to stand -“
-Chancellor Kohl of Germany on the German Reunification Process
On October 3, 1990, East and West Germany were reunified, one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This memo transcribes the brief conversation which occurred between President George Bush and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, describing the reunification celebration.
September 8 - Letter to President Gerald Ford from Anthony Ferreira, a Third Grader at Henry B. Milnes School
On September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford stunned the nation by announcing ”a full, free, and absolute pardon” for former President Richard Nixon.
This letter, from third grader Anthony Ferreira, encapsulated the country’s deep division over Ford’s controversial decision, stating simply: ”I think you are half Right and half wrong.”
Celebrating V-J Day
The surrender of Japan during World War II was announced on August 14, 1945, effectively ending the war, although the official Instrument of Surrender would not be signed until September 2, 1945. Germany had surrendered 3 months earlier on May 7, 1945.
- “American servicemen and women gather in front of ’Rainbow Corner’ Red Cross club in Paris to celebrate the unconditional surrender of the Japanese.” August 15, 1945, McNulty, Photographer, (111-SC-210241)
- “Enlisted men aboard the U.S.S. Ticonderoga (CV-14) hear the news of Japan’s surrender.”, 08/14/1945
- New York City celebrating the surrender of Japan. They threw anything and kissed anybody in Times Square., 08/14/1945
- V-J Day in New York City. Crowds gather in Times Square to celebrate the surrender of Japan., 08/15/1945
- GI’s at the Rainbow Corner Red Cross Club in Paris, France, whoop it up after buying the special edition of the Paris Post, which carried the banner headline, “JAPS QUIT.”
