Bratislava, Slovakia—The role of U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the abolishment of Soviet communism was discussed in a program held by UPF.
On November 8, 2018, UPF-Slovakia invited the publisher Dr. Juraj Lajda from Prague, Czech Republic, to give a talk based on the book Reagan’s War by Peter Schweizer. Dr. Lajda, who leads UPF in the Czech Republic, translated the book into the Czech language and published it because there are many misconceptions about Reagan in the formerly communist countries.
The event took place in an office building in the center of the Slovak capital. The presentation, which included several videos, captured the interest of the audience of 30.
Dr. Lajda highlighted Reagan’s struggle with and final triumph over communism. Even the young people in the audience showed great interest in the political odyssey which was central to bringing down the “evil empire.” The president’s mission to defeat communism was a lifelong ideal of his, leading to his famous "Tear down this wall" speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in June 1987.
The last part of Dr. Lajda’s talk focused on the contribution of The Washington Times, a newspaper which UPF founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon started in 1982. If this paper had not been established, the Cold War could have evolved into global nuclear destruction. The Times was the most quoted newspaper in the broadcasts of Radio Free Europe and the Voice of America. Dr. Lajda showed a short video message from Reagan to the staff of The Times, in which the president said, “ … and, yes, we won the Cold War.” Ronald Reagan, like Reverend Moon, did not receive the credit he deserves for his role in the defeat of Soviet communism, Dr. Lajda said.
The presentation, which was moderated by UPF-Slovakia Secretary General Milos Klas, concluded with a lively and long question-and-answer session.