Remembering the Fall of the Wall: Discussion at Zeitgeschichtliches Forum
On October 25th, DAIS in cooperation with American Space Leipzig and Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig hosted a panel discussion on how students at Karl-Marx-University Leipzig and American diplomats experienced the fall of the Berlin wall. The event was moderated by Prof. Dr. Katja Kanzler from the Institute for American Studies Leipzig. The panelists were Peter Claussen, Cultural Attaché of the US to the GDR from 1987 to 1990, Prof. Dr. Catrin Gersdorf (American Studies, University of Würzburg; Executive Director of the GAAS), and Dr. Jürgen Ronthaler (Institut für Anglistik, Leipzig University).
In 1988, PBS showed a documentary on working for the US Foreign Service: The documentary also followed Peter Claussen during his deployment as Cultural Attaché in the GDR. Claussen always tried to find ways to reach audiences directly outside the embassy. PBS followed him on one of his trips to Karl-Marx University in Leipzig, where he and his colleagues sat down to interview students about their life in the GDR. Gersdorf and Ronthaler, both former students at the Karl-Marx University, were among the interviewees for the documentary. Thirty years later, the event brought Claussen and his interviewees back together to re-evaluate their conversation in 1988.
Around 35 guests listened as the panelists shared their views on the role of American Studies back then and today. What was it like to study and engage with American Studies at Karl-Marx University? Did the participants’ perspectives change after the fall of the Berlin wall?
Both Prof. Gersdorf and Dr. Ronthaler spoke about the difficulty of encountering authoritarian systems in their studies while at the same time experiencing the tensions themselves living in a state where they could not move freely.
Peter Claussen shared how it was working as an official for the US Embassy in East Berlin; he especially highlighted the difficulty of keeping the balance between promoting US culture in the GDR and not stepping on anyone’s toes.
Finally, Dr. Ronthaler and Prof. Gersdorf spoke about the influence their studies in the GDR had on them. Both of them mentioned the importance of a critical education especially in a divided country, and the important role of dialogue.
Watch Peter Claussen talk about “finding gaps in the system” in his interview below with Zeitzeugen-Portal below.