Reporter: Next Monday marks 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Today a special dead ration remembering the historical event took place at the museum. The wall separating east and west Berlin came down November 9, 1989. The museum here in D.C. has a piece of the wall on display. You are looking at it there. Current and former leaders of the U.S. Helsinki Commission reflected on the importance of the fall of the wall to the end of the cold war.
Senator Cardin: "Hundreds of people were killed trying to flee the grip of communism. Many lost their lives suffering under the crushing, suffocating ways of totalitarianism. The people opening the gate of this wall transformed the continent, yet surely changed the course of history."
Reporter: The Commission helped thousands escape soviet communism in the '80s. They helped give human rights advocate as voice in their respected countries.
Relevant countries:
Leadership: