DURHAM, N.H.—The University of New Hampshire will mark the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany through a series of lectures, film screenings, and panel conversations. University students will both create and dismantle a representation of a wall segment. All events will take place in October and November and are free and open to the public.

The wall that separated East from West Berlin from 1961 to November 9, 1989, was both a physical barrier between East and West Germany and a symbolic one between the democratic and communist countries of the world. The wall's rapid fall signaled the end of the Cold War.

To commemorate the anniversary of this momentous event, the UNH German program, with the financial support of the German Embassy, will revisit the events of 1989 to both take stock of the major developments of the past quarter century and also to instruct those too young to remember the impact of this historic change in Germany, Europe, and the world.

"The fall of the Berlin wall was a pivotal moment in world history, notable not only for the peaceful nature of the revolution but also because it ushered in changes that are still in play today in our political, economic, social and cultural institutions," says Professor of German Mary Rhiel.

The program begins on October 7 at 7 p.m. in Murkland Hall with a lecture by UNH professor emerita Nancy Lukens, "Candles in the Wind: East German Nonviolent Resistance and the 'Wende' of 1989-1990." The talk will examine the relationship between the fragile and dangerous yet persistent non-violent resistance practiced in the German Democratic Republic and the events surrounding the opening of the Berlin wall.

UNH professor of art Ben Cariens is working with students to create a representation of a wall segment. The sculpture, intended to provide viewers a physical sense of the wall, will be unveiled in Murkland Hall courtyard on October 9 at 1 p.m. The wall will be dismantled by the UNH community on November 10 at 1 p.m. as a symbolic gesture reflective of what transpired 25 years before on November 9.

Other events include:

Film Screening of "Nikolaikirche" (in German with English subtitles, 1995)
October 8, 7 p.m., Memorial Union Building Theatre I
Directed by Frank Beyer and based on a novel by Erich Loest, the film focuses on how the members of the Bacher family of Leipzig, Germany, experienced the events of the fall of 1989 and steered a course between the desire to protest the government and the fear of what such protest could mean for them.

Film Screening of "Good-Bye, Lenin!" (in German with English subtitles, 2003)
October 14 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Union Building Theatre I
A tragicomedy directed by Wolfgang Becker, the film examines the changes, both positive and negative, that the fall of the wall brings to one East German family.

Personal Experiences of the Wall
October 21 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Union Building Theatre II
UNH professors Jeffrey Diefendorf, Johannes Frank, Jan Kotowski, and Mary Rhiel recount their personal experiences of the Berlin wall, followed by Q&A.

Lecture: Ever-Blowing Winds of Change? German Politics and Society 25 Years After the Fall of the Wall
October 28 at 7 p.m. in Murkland Hall, room 115
Professor Jan Kotowski will lecture on the changes that have marked German society and politics as a result of the fall of the wall over the last 25 years.

Student Presentations
November 5, 7 p.m., location TBA
As part of a prize contest, students of German will speak in German with individuals who have had first-hand experience of events surrounding the fall of the wall and present their findings in German to the community.
For more information, visit cola.unh.edu/fall-of-the-wall.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

Image to be downloaded:  /unhtoday/news/releases/2014/09/images/gallery-1837.jpg
Caption: Berlin, Germany - July 10th, 2010 - Small part of East Side Gallery. The largest (1,3 km) and best kept segment of the Berlin Wall.