Georgetown University

WHO:

The German department and The BMW Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University are sponsoring a variety of events on campus to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall. The university's Freedom Without Walls series runs from Nov. 6-13, commemorating the 1989 event that effectively ended the Cold War and reunified Germany after 28 years. Georgetown is one of about 20 universities nationwide staging 20th anniversary commemorative events with the German Embassy.

All events are open to media coverage and faculty and students available for comment on their memory of the event and the significance today.

More information on Georgetown’s Freedom Without Walls events is available at https://digitalcommons.georgetown.edu/blogs/freedomwithoutwalls/

WHAT:

Building a Berlin Wall Replica
Students will recreate portions of the Berlin Wall, completing five 8x5 ft panels (totaling 20 ft in length) and decorating them with graffitti and barbed wire. Once complete, panels will move to display area in the Bunn Intercultural Center (ICC) atrium through November 13.
Friday, November 6, 2009, starts at noon in Red Square

“A German-American Friendship: The Helmut Kohl I Know, in Celebration of the 20th
Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall”
Former Georgetown president the Rev. Leo O'Donovan, S.J., returns to campus to deliver a lecture about his friend, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
Monday, November 9, 2009 from 6:00 – 7:15 pm in Riggs Library

Student Speech Contest (in German)
German studies students will deliver five-minute speeches in German about how the wall falling changed history and still influences the country today. The winner will be eligible to enter a larger competition run through the embassy and a chance to win a trip for two to Berlin.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 from 9:00 - 11:00 am in Bunn Intercultural Center (ICC) 450

Germany and the Wall
Lecture (in English) by German novelist and screenwriter Peter Schneider, the Roth Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Georgetown University
Thursday, November 12, 2009 from 6:30 – 8:00 pm in Copley Formal Lounge

Peter Schneider and the German Wall Phenomenon
Lecture by Michael Lützeler, Rosa May Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities at Washington University, about Schneider's work depicting the wall in movies, essays and books.
Friday, November 13, 2009 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm in the CCAS Boardroom in the Bunn Intercultural Center (ICC)

Photo Exhibit in the Bunn Intercultural Center
Historical photos of East Berlin and the Wall, from its construction in 1961 to its fall in 1989 as well as the diplomatic endeavors and encounters of the Cold War opponents. Scenes from a brand new documentary on the Wall commissioned by the German Information Center specifically for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall will also be shown.
November 9-13, 2009

WHEN:

November 6-13, 2009 (see details above)

WHERE:

(See room numbers above)
Georgetown University
37th & O Streets, NW
Washington, D.C. 20057

SPONSORS:

German Department, The BMW Center for German and European Studies at Georgetown University, and the German Embassy

COVERAGE:

Media interested in attending must RSVP to Katie Martha at 202-687-4328 or kpm43@georgetown.edu or Rachel Pugh at rmp47@georgetown.edu. Press will need to present valid credentials on campus.