How did John Paul II help bring down the Berlin Wall?

“Be not afraid.”

It was June 1979. Pope John Paul II, elected only a year before, was speaking to the people of Poland on one of his first trips as pope.

The people were elated to receive him. The Communist government was not.

John Paul II in Poland, June 1979 (Barbara Bartkowiak/WikiCommons)

The Communists hated God and everything to do with Him. Their atheistic philosophy saw God—a Supreme Being Whose law far transcends any human law—as their mortal enemy. When the people believed in God, they believed in a higher authority than the State, and that was dangerous to the Communist regime.

But there was nothing the Communists could do to stop Christ’s Vicar.

“We want God! We want God!” shouted the people.

The authorities could not silence this man. They could not kill him. They could not make the Polish people ignore his message. He had a power they could not understand or control; a power that entered the hearts of his fellow Poles and didn’t go away.

John Paul II would make other trips to Poland in following years. The trips not only gave hope to the Polish people—they also helped bolster the nascent Solidarity movement, which would play a pivotal role in breaking the power of Communism and bringing freedom to Poland.

Ten years later, Soviet rule would come to an end in that country, and other Soviet holdings soon followed. The Berlin Wall, the symbol of the Iron Curtain, fell in 1989.

Unfortunately, those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. Those who promote socialist and communist ideas in our modern world often find eager audiences in those who haven’t been taught what Marxism and Communism actually did to the world in the 20th century.

Don’t be deceived and don’t stand by complacent! Pray for our country and our world and seek the intercession of St. John Paul II! This beautiful and handy John Paul II Tenner is the perfect way to bring the intercession of JPII and the power of the Holy Rosary with you wherever you go! It is the perfect weapon against the evils of communism. Order yours today from The Catholic Company!