Directed by Wolfgang Becker
In German with English subtitles
East Germany, the year 1989: A young man protests against the regime and is arrested. His mother suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma. When she wakes up from it, the wall is gone and the country she knew no longer exists. What unfolds now is a bittersweet comedy about the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Laurie Marhoefer, Professor of History at Syracuse University, discusses the short-term cause of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 and the role of chance in this historical moment.
Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
In German with English subtitles
A thriller, a love story, and a fairy tale about the GDR and the surveillance by the Stasi, East Germany’s secret police. What is the role of literature and art in such a system? Do lovers have a chance within a regime of spying and betrayal?
Irwin Collier is the Director of the John F. Kennedy Institute and Professor of Economics at Freie Universität Berlin.
Join us for for a reception following the lecture.
Ralph Jessen is a Professor of Modern History at the University of Cologne.
Join us for for a reception following the lecture.
Director, Hava Kohav Beller will host a discussion following the film screening.
In English
One of the most compelling documentaries about life and dissent in East Germany between 1949 and 1989, centering on the physicist Robert Havemann, the film focuses on acts of courage and resistance despite brutal consequences.