BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

At the United States celebrates another Fourth of July, many people from New Jersey may be surprised to learn that one of our own played some part in gaining freedom for another part of the world.

According to a new book, a Bruce Springsteen concert in 1988 in East Berlin may have led to the Berlin Wall coming down.

Springsteen played in front of more than 300,000 fans that day. He gave a brief message to his East German fans in German, saying, according to Rolling Stone, "It's great to be in East Berlin. I'm not for or against any government. I came here to play rock & roll for you, in the hope that one day all barriers will be torn down."

Springsteen next played "Chimes of Freedom." Protests began within a year, and the Berlin Wall came down 16 months later.

“Rocking the Wall” author Erik Kirschbaum said, according to Reuters, “Whether Springsteen deserves belated credit for helping end the Cold War depends to a certain extent on whether you believe in the power of rock 'n' roll. But what is beyond doubt is that Springsteen's 1988 concert is a glorious example of the influence that rock 'n' roll can have on people who are hungry and ready for change."

Communism, censorship, and no freedom of speech reigned in East Germany at the time.

ABC News reported that West Berlin had been holding concerts by Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson and David Bowie before the Springsteen show, and thousands of secret police had been brought in to keep citizens away from the Wall. The communist regime began to organize more concerts to relieve some of the public pressure, but Springsteen may have had the added effect of making East Berliners desire more freedom.

Also, Springsteen may have also helped matters of freedom with his rousing version of “Chimes of Freedom,” written by Bob Dylan. Dylan played in East Berlin in 1987, and he was said to be less than inspiring.

Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau said after the show, according to ABC News, “Bruce walked off the stage, and we said -- you know just personally to each other -- that we had a feeling a big change was coming in East Germany."