How Springsteen "Cracked" the Berlin Wall

Again NPR revealed another unknown to me story that shows how small the world really is.  With the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall stories of life in East Germany and of this turning point in history have flooded the news, but the one that stuck out the most to me was the role the musician best known for his song "Born in the USA" had in the decline of communist Europe.   In July 1988 the GDP gave its youth wing permission to host a concert with a western singer to ease tensions.  It completely backfired.  "It was gradually dawning on everyone between about 20 and 30 years old that things couldn't just continue in East Germany the way they had been going. Something had to change. And when Springsteen came, his concert fitted right into all that."  Said Berliner Andrea Dubois (the guardian.com)

Just over a year later the wall fell.  Yes Reagan demanded, "Tear down this wall."  However, to 160,000 Springsteen said, “It’s great to be in East Berlin,” he said. “I’m not for or against any government. I came here to play rock & roll for you, in the hope that one day all barriers will be torn down.”