Sunday, November 9, 2014 marked the 25th anniversary of the historic fall of the Berlin Wall. IES Abroad Berlin students and staff were fortunate to commemorate this occasion in a personal way.
On Monday, November 10, IES Abroad Berlin Students met with a group of German college students to discuss the event. They later placed three bottles with messages in the Spree River to be opened on the 50th anniversary.
Afterward, they walked along the old border at the river with a professor from our partner university—who was himself a former resident of East Berlin. He shared old photos and memories from those days, giving students a unique, primary source look at life on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
On Thursday, November 13, Sabine Berking, IES Abroad Berlin - Metropolitan Studies Interim Program Coordinator, was interviewed on Canadian television channel TVOntario (TVO). The first 12 minutes address Berking’s own feelings and memories about this historic event. Having grown up in East Berlin, she remembers, “It was a moment of excitement, but it was also a little bit frightening.”
Berking, who has taught courses including The Question of Identity in Contemporary Europe, Multicultural Berlin, and Portable Roots: Reflecting Otherness in Multicultural Germany & Europe, was recognized at a recent IES Abroad Board meeting for her extensive and creative use of Moodle, an interactive educational tool. She and the rest of the IES Abroad Berlin staff and faculty are dedicated to helping students make the most of their experience in Germany through the exploration of significant current and historical cultural events.
Click here to watch Berking's interview featured on The Agenda with Steve Paikin: 25 Years Without The Wall.
