No Paved Way for Naming Berlin Street after Reagan

Byline: Sumi Somaskanda, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

BERLIN -- n this once-divided city where Ronald Reagan famously challenged the Soviet Union to tear down this wall, a proposal to rename a public square or street in his honor has sparked heated debate over the U.S. president's role in Germany's recent past.

Ahead of the Feb. 6 centennial of Reagan's birth, German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg surprised many here when he called on Berlin to pay tribute to the former U.S. president by renaming a square Ronald-Reagan-Platz.

Naming a street after such a great honorary citizen would be very welcome, Mr. Guttenberg told the German daily newspaper Bild in December.

However, his suggestion has proved to be complicated. The Berlin Senate passed along Mr. Guttenberg's call to the city's 12 districts, which hold the power to name streets and squares.

The first response came from the …

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Publication information: Article title: No Paved Way for Naming Berlin Street after Reagan. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Washington Times (Washington, DC). Publication date: March 1, 2011. Page number: A01. © 2009 The Washington Times LLC. COPYRIGHT 2011 Gale Group.

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