Supporters of the bill were there too. Jesse Jackson - a veteran of the civil rights movement - stood in the shadow of the Capital as a witness to history.

VOA: standard.2010.03.22

"This is a special moment for Chancellor Merkel, as somebody who grew up in East Germany, who understands what it is like to be under the shadow of a dictatorial regime, and to see how freedom has bloomed in Germany,"

VOA: standard.2009.11.03