JACKIE ALBRECHT NEWS EDITOR
The 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will be commemorated on campus Nov. 4-13 through a celebration called “Freedom Without Walls”.
Various events will take place including a public speaking competition, graffiti contest, charity run, two film viewings and a gala.
“What is great about this event for the campus as a whole is it creates a number of opportunities for accidental learning. Students can learn about the wall, they can learn about some of the barriers that still exist and think about them,” co-coordinator of Wartburg’s “Freedom Without Walls” celebration and Germany history professor Daniel Walther said.
Wartburg was one of 25 colleges and universities selected by the German Embassy in Washington D.C. to receive an $8,000 grant to organize a “Freedom Without Walls” campus celebration.
Walther said it’s important to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall on campuses, because college students were very young or not born when the wall fell.
“The fall of the wall was a defining moment in global history,” Walther said.
Walther said there are other barriers that still exist today and the fall of the wall serves as reminder of the present barriers.
“We still see race crimes that occur. There are also crimes of religion. There are crimes directed towards people based on their sexual preference. In this country, the so-called bastion of democracy and freedom, there’s still a lot of walls and divisions,” he said.
Student leaders have done all of the planning for the events occurring throughout the week. The viewing of “Goodbye, Lenin!” will precede the official kick off of “Freedom without Walls” on Nov. 4. The actual celebration will commence on Nov. 9, which is the day the Berlin Wall fell.
The celebration will end with a gala event that will feature traditional German foods, music and stories with a presentation by former Interim U.S. Ambassador to Germany James Bindenagel.
Erin Savarese, coordinator of the gala event, said the gala and other events will give students, faculty and staff an opportunity to understand what the world was like when the Berlin Wall existed, but also to illustrate “walls” still exist today.
“It really is a big celebration that the wall has been down for 20 years. The day should not just come and go with everyone thinking it is just another day. That week is a big celebration and people need to understand how important it is,” Savarese said.