California Baptist University Marks 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
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- From left: ASCBU's Jordon Trivison and Blake Brewton, Riverside Assembly field rep, Consul Michael Ott, Provost Prof. Dr. Jonathan Parker, Riverside Assembly field rep and Prof. Dr. Christopher McHorney.
- (© Consulate Generla Los Angeles)
California Baptist University marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall with an on campus banquet celebration on Monday, November 16, 2009.
The Associated Students of California Baptist University (ASCBU) hosted the event with German Consul for Cultural, Press and Legal Affairs, Michael Ott, the guest of honor and featured keynote speaker.
The evening started off with the showing of Deutsche Welle's “Walled In,” an animated depiction of the former German-German border. The project was developed in cooperation with the Berlin Wall Foundation to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
After welcoming remarks, the guests were lead in prayer by Prof. Dr. Christopher McHorney, Chair of the Department of History, Political Science and Criminal Justice, who noted that not only political freedom was being celebrated but the freedom of religion as well.
Consul Michael Ott was pleased that so many young people had turned out for the event, since namely the focal point of his speech dealt with the significance of November 9th for the younger generation and what lessons have been learned from the situation today.
He first took the opportunity, as a German representative on U.S. soil, to thank the American people. “Freedom would not have prevailed and reunification would not have been achieved without the steadfast and unfaltering support of our American friends. For that, the German people will be always be grateful, he said.”
He went on to quote from the speech German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave before the U.S. Congress on November 3, 2009:
To sum up in one sentence: I know, we Germans know, how much we owe you, our American friends. We as a nation, and I personally, will never forget that.” ....Twenty years have passed since we were given this i ncredible gift of freedom. But there is still nothing that inspires me more, nothing that spurns me on more, nothing that fills me more with positive feelings than the power of freedom.
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- Consul Michael Ott holds keynote speech with the German Embassy"s Freedom Without Walls banner on view..
- (© Consulate General Los Angeles)
In closing, Ott remarked, “Today, the events of 1989 remind us that freedom should not be taken for granted. They remind us that we have to stand up for what we believe in, and that we have a responsibility to support those who still struggle to be free. This is another important lesson the fall of the Berlin Wall teaches us. To present and future generations, the fall of the Berlin Wall sends a universal message of hope. It reminds us that peaceful change remains possible even where hard line regimes have resorted to the use of force before. It reminds us that freedom will prevail over oppression. For freedom is an infectious idea, which, however brutally suppressed, cannot be contained forever. Not even by a wall.”
The event was supported by the German Information Center.
