This episode examines the dramatic events that occurred during the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. Soviet Premier Gorbachev's efforts at economic and political reform, which won him the Nobel Peace Prize, actually had the ironic result of breaking up his nation. The program details the freedom surges in Poland, Hungary, and East Germany during this time, culiminating in the 1989 tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the ultimate symbol of Soviet tyranny.