--- title: Cold War History: Who Was John Birch? description: His death on Aug. 25, 1945, was commemorated by an anti-communist Cold War movement canonical: https://time.com/3990549/john-birch-history/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-25T15:00:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:00.660Z article:section: History og:title: Cold War History: Who Was John Birch? og:description: His death on Aug. 25, 1945, was commemorated by the anti-communist group og:url: https://time.com/3990549/john-birch-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f2d311b3b135ab1/69885e7a524fc0bde8df3f3f/birch.jpeg?branch=production&width=529&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 529 og:image:height: 298 og:image:alt: John Birch Society Exhibit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cold War History: Who Was John Birch? twitter:description: His death on Aug. 25, 1945, was commemorated by the anti-communist group twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f2d311b3b135ab1/69885e7a524fc0bde8df3f3f/birch.jpeg?branch=production&width=529&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:02 video:published: 2014-11-07 section: history topics: Berlin Wall, fall of the Berlin Wall, Cold War, 1989, reunification, East and West Berlin, crossings, public celebration genre: documentary, retrospective tones: nostalgic, reflective, celebratory, vivid emotions: joy (high), surprise (medium), confusion (low) sentiment: positive audience: history enthusiasts, general news audiences, Cold War students, older readers who remember 1989 organizations: TIME transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # The 'Zealot' Who Gave the John Birch Society Its Name > Sponsored content. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=5353ec45-a1d6-4a5c-a7c9-c11ad3ee9b4b&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=5353ec45-a1d6-4a5c-a7c9-c11ad3ee9b4b&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: TIME Remembers: The Day The Berlin Wall Fell [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Remembers: The Day The Berlin Wall Fell](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jV5CSSDl.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2014-11-07. Take a look back in time to the fall of the Berlin Wall with two reporters who were working when it happened_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Two reporters who were working during 1989 recall the fall of the Berlin Wall. They describe the surprise of the events, the crowds celebrating and confusion at the border, and the scene the next day when people were walking freely between East and West. They conclude that the wall was now history. ## Key points - One reporter says nobody expected 1989 to be an interesting year, but it turned out to be revolutionary. (00:09) - One reporter says that before the fall, they had thought the Wall would never fall, and later said the Wall will fall. (00:21) - The reporter says the fall represents a huge victory for the United States after 40 years of the Cold War. (00:31) - The reporter recalls that on the night, people were cheering, shouting and laughing, while those involved were confused and unsure whether they could go back. (00:49) - The reporter's most distinct memory of the night is a huge, very happy crowd partying and screaming for the gate to be opened. (01:04) - The next day was bright, clear and sunny, and people were streaming through a crossing from east to west over planks laid across the sand. (01:14) - A crowd of several hundred West Germans at the west side applauded without cheering as people crossed. (01:34) - The reporter concludes that reunification's outcome is uncertain, but the wall is history and it is over. (01:45) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:18] Unexpected year and the night of the fall. The reporters introduce 1989 as a surprising year and recall the night the wall fell as a vivid memory. - [00:18 to 00:38] Surprise and belief the Wall would fall. One reporter recalls the surprise of the events and how their expectations changed about the wall falling. - [00:38 to 01:04] Cold War victory and night's confusion. The reporters describe the fall as a victory after the Cold War and the mixed reactions of celebration and confusion. - [01:04 to 01:14] Crowds celebrating at the gate. A reporter describes the happy crowd demanding the gate be opened. - [01:14 to 02:02] Next-day crossings and the wall as history. The reporter describes people crossing freely the next day and concludes the wall is now history. ## Key quotes - [01:45] reporter: "the wall is, is history. It's over" - [00:31] reporter: "The Wall will fall." - [01:34] reporter: "Nothing else no cheering, just applauding." ## Questions this video answers - What was the mood of people on the night the Berlin Wall fell? [00:49] - Why did the fall of the Berlin Wall represent a victory? [00:31] - What did people do at the crossings the day after the wall fell? [01:14] - How did the reporters' expectations about the Wall change? [00:21] - What did the West German crowd do when people crossed on the next day? [01:34]  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Aug 25, 2015 3:00 PM UTC  New England Rally for God, Family & Country by the John Birch Society Exhibit held at the Statler Hilton Hotel on Park Square, Boston, 1972. New England Rally for God, Family & Country by the John Birch Society Exhibit held at the Statler Hilton Hotel on Park Square, Boston, 1972. Spencer Grant—Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Aug 25, 2015 3:00 PM UTC It was one of the last deaths of World War II, but its legacy had a lasting effect on our politics. Seventy years ago Tuesday—on Aug. 25, 1945— a 26-year-old Army Air Force captain named John Birch was killed by communists in China at the twilight of World War II, after Japan announced its surrender. Some 13 years later, the John Birch Society–named for the young soldier–was [founded](http://time.com/3623761/john-birch/) to expose what they saw as rampant communism within the United States. The secretive group wasted little time fanning the flames of anti-communist sentiment, with TIME reporting in 1961 on their [theories](http://time.com/vault/issue/1961-03-10/page/21/) about leftist agents in high-ranking government positions—[including](http://time.com/vault/issue/1961-04-21/page/22/), they posited, Dwight Eisenhower. That report was read into the Congressional record [a few weeks later](http://time.com/vault/issue/1961-04-07/page/15/) and inspired [debate](http://time.com/vault/issue/1961-04-07/page/18/) on the Senate floor. The group’s namesake was apt. As TIME reported, Birch was a champion crusader: --- > “” --- After school, Birch followed his parents’ lead in becoming a missionary. He was serving in China when World War II arrived. In 1942, after meeting survivors of the U.S. air raid on Tokyo, Birch decided to enlist and was assigned to work behind enemy lines in China. **_Read more from 1961, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Who Was John Birch?](http://time.com/vault/issue/1961-04-14/page/29/) ## Transcript [00:09] [ NOISE ] 1989 was, was a year no one expected to be [00:12] very interesting, and it turned out to be just revolutionary. [00:14] That night is one that just stands out, it, it's like yesterday. [00:18] That was huge. Well it was, it was stunning. I mean, [00:21] nobody knew what was going on. Something was bubbling [00:25] early in that week. They weren't sure what. And I was [00:26] thinking the Wall will never fall. What [00:31] are you thinking now? The Wall will fall. I mean, this [00:36] represents a huge victory. Straight to the United States, [00:38] after 40 years of the Cold War. It was huge. I mean, we [00:42] got to the moon. We built three different kinds of nuclear [00:45] weapons. [ MUSIC ] [ APPLAUSE ] [00:49] People were cheering, and shouting, and laughing. And, it [00:53] was very confused, nobody knew what to do. These people [00:55] didn't know if they were going back or not. And he hooks [00:57] the hand of stopping the West Berlin. And it's destroying [01:00] the world with soot ash, it's dumped. [01:04] And probably my most distinct memory of the whole night [01:05] was this huge crowd, very happy, partying. I mean they [01:07] were screaming tore out, tore out, open the gate. The reply [01:10] was swift. And the [01:14] next day, it was this bright, clear, [01:18] just blindingly sunny day and I went out to one of the [01:21] crossings. And if someone had laid planks across the sand [01:24] into no man's land. And people were streaming [01:28] through. They were just walking through from the east to [01:30] the west. And as I got to the west side there was a crowd [01:34] oh, several hundred people, West Germans. And they were [01:38] just applauding. Nothing else no cheering, just applauding. [01:42] And it was really just a stunning moment and I think I [01:45] realized at that point, you know, this is done. I don't know [01:48] what's gonna go on with reunification but the wall is, is [01:52] history. 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