Mikhail Gorbachev was enduringly popular in Germany for enabling the country's reunification after four decades of post-World War II division — and setting the scene for the peaceful collapse of communism that made it possible.
Even 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gorbachev was hailed with chants of “Gorby! Gorby!” as he attended a ceremony in 2014 marking the anniversary in the reunited capital.
