The First Crister S. Garrett Memorial Lecture with Dr. Steve Sokol

On December 5, 2023, the first annual Crister S. Garrett Memorial Lecture was held at the Albertina Library in Leipzig, commemorating the life and legacy of Crister Garrett. This event also marked the commencement of the 10th-anniversary celebrations of American Space Leipzig, an initiative founded by Crister Garrett.

Photos by Corinna Mehl.

Approximately 70 people attended the evening lecture. The keynote address was delivered by Steve Sokol, President of the American Council on Germany, who traveled from New York for this occasion. In his speech, Sokol recounted his journey with Crister Garrett, detailing how their shared path as transatlanticists led them to East Germany. Sokol reflected on his observations of transatlantic relations in East Germany over the past 30 years. His speech was optimistic about East German-American relations, asserting that East Germans, in many ways, share more similarities with Americans than West Germans do, particularly in terms of resilience, pragmatism, and experiencing structural changes.

The event also featured a greeting from US Consul General John Crosby, who emphasized Crister Garrett's importance to transatlantic relations. Crister Garrett's daughter, Kajsa Garrett, spoke briefly to highlight the Crister S. Garrett Scholarship. The evening was further enriched by greetings from DAIS Deputy Director Erica Larson Bautze and Executive Director Eric Fraunholz.

You can watch the entire lecture here.

We thank Fulbright Germany, the German Foreign Office, the US Embassy in Berlin, and the Freistaat Sachsen for making this event possible.