ABSTRACT

Several years stand out in history: 1688, 1776, 1789, 1917-and now 1989 can be added to that list. 1989 was a year of tremendous change and the images that flashed before our eyes shall be etched in hearts and minds for a long time. From the lone unarmed protest student facing off the tanks in Tiananmen Square to the joyous dance on top of the Berlin Wall, from the accession of Solidarity in Poland and the Civic Forum in Czechoslovakia to the execution of the tyrant Ceausescu in Romania, the images of 1989 were an overwhelming affirmation of humanity’s universal struggle for freedom.