July 4 will not only be celebrated in the United States this year, but also in the German capitol of Berlin, and in a big way. California’s George Schultz, the former U.S. Secretary of State, will celebrate it here, as will Dr. Henry Kissinger and also former President George H.W.Bush.
And the reason is very interesting. The United States will open its brand spanking new Embassy here on our Independance Day, designed in part by Californians and built to include a beautiful "mission" style central courtyard, on the grounds of the former U.S. Embassy. For years the United States has been operating its Embassy at a different location. The reason for that is the old Embassy building and grounds were closed by the U.S. during the Nazi regime (with whom we were at war), and the building was wrecked during the April/May 1945 fighting between the Germans and Soviets, and after the war the property, near the Brandenburg Gate, ended up in the Eastern sector of the City, under Soviet control. To add insult to injury, the East German Communists subsequently completely cleared and paved over the remains of the old U.S. Embassy and used the property to create a "kill zone" for their Wall. People have died on the grounds, seeking freedom.
So, the U.S. was forced to find another location for its envoys. But after the Wall came down, we got our property back, and one of the shining achievements of U.S. Ambassador Timken’s service here will be the re-establishment of our Embassy on the old grounds, after almost 70 years. And there will be a great party, with a lot of fireworks, in what has become a most appropriate symbolic location for celebrating the birthday of America, that truly represent freedom, in more ways than one.