The Legacy of 1989

I was delighted to see that 1989 was the subject of your recent issue, but I was disappointed that Poland's role in bringing about the end of communism in Central and Eastern Europe was almost completely ignored [June 29]. The fall of the Berlin Wall, albeit a very striking and photogenic event, had an entire article devoted to it, whereas the event that made it possible, the June 4 election in Poland, was only very briefly mentioned. The start of it all was the work of the Solidarity trade union, which by 1989 had been operating for a decade, and had survived martial law in Poland when there was no thought of such a movement in other Eastern bloc countries. Of course, Gorbachev played a significant role in that he allowed Poland to hold partially free elections — the first country behind the Iron Curtain to do so. But it was the boldness of the Solidarity movement, and the millions of Poles who risked arrest or worse by voting for it, that paved the way for the Berlin Wall to fall five months later.
Anna Spysz, CRACOW, POLAND

I could not locate in the text a single word about the most famous electrician in history, Nobel Prize winner Lech Walesa, his role in dismantling the Soviet empire, and the first noncommunist Prime Minister in Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe, Tadeusz Mazowiecki. It all started here in Poland. That is what I am teaching my kids, and that is what I expected to find in my favorite weekly.
Christopher Komornicki, WOJTOWICE, POLAND

Re your articles about the political events that led up to regime change in Central and Eastern Europe, we Hungarians are very proud of our contribution. We have just celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Pan-European Picnic: the opening of the border with Austria that allowed hundreds of East Germans to cross to the West. But this was preceded by many other events, such as the demonstrations by tens of thousands of people in Heroes' Square in Budapest in the summer of 1988 against Ceausescu's bulldozing of ethnic Hungarian villages in Romania, at a time when gatherings by just a handful of people were illegal.
Christina Rozsnyai, SZENTENDRE, HUNGARY

Re the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago, I pray that the world can force Israel to demolish the wall of hate it has erected illegally. That wall, and Israel's illegal settlements, are making a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict virtually impossible. You recollect that President Reagan famously urged Moscow to "tear down this wall." It is high time for President Obama and Western leaders to say exactly those same words to Israel — and to impose sanctions if it doesn't comply.
Samir Hawa, PRANGINS, SWITZERLAND

Being French and highly influenced by the "soixante-huitards" wave of pseudo-revolution, I was astonished by the convergence of earth-shaking changes that took place in 1989. It has taken me 20 years to realize how flawed 1968 really was and how strong, true and long-lasting 1989 will be in our history books. Many thanks for such a landmark issue.
Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye, LE PRADET, FRANCE

Winning Shot
Roger Federer is both in harmony with and in control of all the elements of a tennis court [June 29]. That is what makes us his fans. As for Rafael Nadal, he is constantly fighting all these elements, including his own body (he had to pull out of Wimbledon for overworking his knees). Nadal's game is exciting to watch, but one gets tired of watching him win with a struggle, 10 times in a row. Nadal can beat Federer every single time they meet, but that won't make him greater than Federer, nor it will make Federer anything less than a living, and still playing, legend of tennis.
Hakan Azatoglu, ISTANBUL, TURKEY

A World of Debt
The U.S. Treasury Secretary reminds us that we're in a recession where debt as a share of the economy has risen to extraordinarily high levels [June 29]. Timothy Geithner says: Remember, this is a crisis born in part of the fact that households around the world took on too much debt. Wrong. Households in the U.S. took on too much debt, and the banks just encouraged them. We've got to face the music, but should not forget who provided the tune.
Heinz Lichius, LAGESBÜTTEL, GERMANY