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CSUN’s History Department Holds Lecture on the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
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- Donal O'Sullivan, CSUN assistant history professor, speaks on the fall of the Berlin Wall.
- (© Consulate General Los Angeles)
For more than twenty-eight years, a wall divided Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc. On Nov. 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, signaling the end of the Cold War and the reunification of both Europe, and specifically, Germany.
To commemorate this monumental moment in history, California State University, Northridge’s (CSUN) Department of History held a special lecture, 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall: From Peaceful Revolution to German Unification, on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.
Susan Curzon, CSUN's Library Dean, opened the program and introduced the first speaker, history professor Michael Meyer.
Professor Meyer, an East German born in Magdeburg, gave his insight and shared his personal experiences during the events that transpired shaking the world and marking a new era for Berlin and Germany.
After his remarks, he introduced featured speaker, Donal O’Sullivan, assistant history professor at CSUN, and a specialist on the Soviet Union.
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- Susan Curzon, CSUN Library Dean, Harry Hellenbrand, CSUN Provost, Michael Ott, Consul for Cultural Affairs, and CSUN's Assistant History Professor Donal O'Sullivan and History Professor Michael Meyer.
- (© Consulate General Los Angeles)
O'Sullivan outlined the historical timeline of events, and spoke about the political aspects that led up to the building and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He touched upon the post-wall era and what effect it had on East and West Germans. Though the physical wall was down, he explained, for many people a wall of separation still existed in their heads. East Germans suffered from a loss of identity, and West Germans struggled with the economic impact of reunification.
O'Sullivan further detailed what it took for a divided people and a divided country to finally come together and unite as one. He depicted the process of reunification, though not always easy, to be an overall positive experience.
A Q and A session followed the presentation with speakers Michael Meyer, Donal O'Sullivan and Michael Ott, Consul for Cultural Affairs, answering questions from the audience.
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- CSUN History Professor Michael Meyer takes questions from the audience.
- (© Consulate General Los Angeles)
The program also featured an exhibition of posters titled, ‘From the Democratic Revolution to the Unification of Germany,’ depicting the protest movement in the cities of East Germany, to the actual events of Nov. 9, 1989
The event was co-sponsored by the Oviatt Library, Associated Graduate Students of History, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Los Angeles and the German American Cultural Society.
