| | In the late 1980s, increasing political pressure was placed on the East German regime to relax its repressive policies and allow greater freedom of movement. The most famous instance of this was Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, delivered at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987, while Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, pursuing his programs of [[perestroika]] and [[glasnost]] to introduce more individual freedom to the Soviet Union, privately urged Erich Honecker, East German General Secretary, to follow suit. Nonetheless, through early 1989 the regime maintained its brutal policies at the Berlin Wall. Chris Gueffroy, an East Berliner, was shot and killed trying to cross over the Wall on February 5--the last person to be deliberately murdered while attempting to flee across the barrier. | | In the late 1980s, increasing political pressure was placed on the East German regime to relax its repressive policies and allow greater freedom of movement. The most famous instance of this was Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, delivered at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987, while Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, pursuing his programs of [[perestroika]] and [[glasnost]] to introduce more individual freedom to the Soviet Union, privately urged Erich Honecker, East German General Secretary, to follow suit. Nonetheless, through early 1989 the regime maintained its brutal policies at the Berlin Wall. Chris Gueffroy, an East Berliner, was shot and killed trying to cross over the Wall on February 5--the last person to be deliberately murdered while attempting to flee across the barrier. |