Its creators, producer Bob Thiele and songwriter George David Weiss, hoped that Armstrong's grandfatherly image would help convey the song's message - and the message was political.

BBC: Smashed Hits: How political is What A Wonderful World?

More than two decades after the Berlin Wall succumbed to the will of Ms. Thiele and millions of other East Germans to see what lay beyond its concrete ridges, Berliners are fighting to keep the remaining traces of the city's nearly 30-year separation intact.

WSJ: In Berlin, Wall Divides Developers, Protesters