Orbán’s letter to the Hildebrand Foundation which operates the museum was read out at the event. “The fall of the Berlin Wall was the most important moment of the 20th century. It has shown that the German people and Europe have a common life, fate and culture that walls and ideologies can only divide temporarily”, Orbán said.

“The wish of the oppressed for liberty has found its way to the surface again and again. The greater the oppression, the more our courage and ingeniousness grew in finding the way to freedom.

“We Hungarians still remember with a fond gratitude of the days when the first passage to freedom for East Germans opened on our land. This passage, or checkpoint . has led not only into the free world, but ultimately to a united Germany and Europe”, the letter said.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.