Fall of the Berlin Wall: 30th Anniversary Celebration

Professors Astrid Weigert and Anja Banchoff of the German Department organized a week-long series of events beginning Monday, November 4, to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Events included a week-long poster display in the ICC Galleria on “Understanding the Border: The Berlin Wall 1961-1989” and a replica Berlin Wall on display in Red Square.

We were also pleased to host Michael J. Mucchetti on Thursday, November 7, for an eyewitness account of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and on November 8, German Department students participated in a BLITZslam! conference on the topic of walls. The students gave 5-minute presentations in either German or English to an enthusiastic audience of peers, graduate students, and faculty.

The week’s events ended on Saturday, November 9, with a “Tear Down the Wall!” cake party in Red Square. Members of the German Club ceremoniously cut the cake made in the shape of the Berlin Wall for a delicious end to the celebration.