February 18, 2009      

MEDIA CONTACTS: Menachem Wecker
(202) 994-8025, mwecker@gwu.edu 
Nick Massella
(202) 994-3087; massella@gwu.edu

THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL, 20 YEARS LATER - A SYMPOSIUM REMEMBERING THE HISTORIC DAY
MARCH 6, 2009

EVENT:  

The peaceful demise of the Berlin Wall beginning on Nov. 9, 1989, symbolized for many the end of the Cold War. Questions, however, still remain. "What remains of the Berlin Wall?" "How is the Wall treated as a site of memory?" "Is there a consensus in Germany on understanding the place of the Berlin Wall and the division of Germany in German history, or is this contested?" A panel of experts will discuss the effects of the Berlin Wall at "History, Memory and Politics: A Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and Its Legacy, 1989-2009." This event is co-hosted by GW's Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies; GW's University Seminar on History, Memory, and Politics; and the Woodrow Wilson Center's history and public policy program.

WHEN:   

Friday, March 6, 2009; Noon - 4:45 p.m.

WHERE:   

The George Washington University
The Elliott School of International Affairs, State Room, 7th floor
1957 E St., NW, Washington, D.C.
Foggy Bottom - GWU Metro Station (Orange and Blue lines)

RSVP:   

This event is free and open to the public. RSVP by March 3 to ieresgwu@gwu.edu, with "Attn: March 6" in the subject line. Media are welcome and should RSVP to Menachem Wecker at (202) 994-8025 or mwecker@gwu.edu.

PANELISTS:

Noon - 1:30 p.m. - Lunch and keynote address, "Between Civil Society and the State: The Performance of the Past in the 21st Century"
-Jay Winter, Charles J. Stille Professor of History, Yale University

1:30 - 3 p.m. - Panel 1, "The Downfall and Resurrection of the Berlin Wall"
-Christian Ostermann (moderator), director, history and public policy program and European program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
-Hope M. Harrison, director, GW's Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies
-Axel Klausmeier, director, Berlin Wall Memorial, Berlin

3:15 - 4:45 p.m. - Panel 2, "Overseeing the Landscape of Memory Concerning East Germany and the Division"
-Mary Beth Stein (moderator), associate professor of German and international affairs, GW
-Rainer Klemke, director, Berlin Senate Working Group on Museums with Federal Participation, Memorials, and Contemporary History; director, Berlin Senate Working Group on Remembering the Berlin Wall, Senate Department on Cultural Affairs, Berlin
-Jens Huettmann, director, Project on 20 Years Since the Peaceful Revolution, German Federal Foundation on Reappraising the East German Past, Berlin

For a complete calendar of events at GW's Elliott School of International Affairs, visit www.elliott.gwu.edu.
For more news about The George Washington University visit www.gwnewscenter.org.
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