Celebrating Unity and Freedom Without Walls
-
- Enlarge image
- The "Freedom Without Walls" theme was evident to arriving guests.
- (© Germany.info)
With arriving guests passing through “Checkpoint Charlie” and a simulated Berlin Wall in the garden, there was no mistaking the theme of this year’s celebration of the Day of German Unity at the German Embassy in Washington, DC—the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The reception on October 2, hosted jointly by Ambassador Klaus Scharioth and Lower Saxony Prime Minister Christian Wulff in the Ambassador’s Residence and Garden, offered something for everyone.
-
- Enlarge image
- The evening’s guest of honor was Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served as national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter.
- (© Germany.info)
The evening’s guest of honor was Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served as national security advisor to President Jimmy Carter and is currently a professor of American Foreign Policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The state of Lower Saxony was co-host of this year’s event and presented its multifaceted assets under the theme “Land of Energy—a Location for Science, Research and Culture.”
The Day of German Unity on October 3 marks the day in 1990 on which the German Democratic Republic (East) acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. This unification took place 11 months after the GDR suddenly opened its border crossings on November 9, 1989.
“Freedom Without Walls” was the overarching theme of the evening. Along with the “Checkpoint Charlie” entry point and the simulated Berlin Wall complete with graffiti and silhouettes of people climbing over it, guests enjoyed an exhibit inside the residence on events surrounding the fall of the wall, original works by Berlin artists and informational films.
-
- Enlarge image
- Ambassador Scharioth remembered with gratitude and admiration those men and women who took to the streets in 1989, shouting, "Wir sind das Volk" (we are the people).
- (© Germany.info)
Guests also had the opportunity to hear from Stefan Walter, a freedom activist in East Germany and one of the protagonists in a documentary by director Matthias Schmidt. Walter shared his own experiences from the era. Schmidt was on hand to present his documentary, The Miracle of Leipzig, about the peaceful demonstrations in Leipzig in 1989 that precipitated the fall of the wall. Guests also heard from film director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who directed the Oscar-winning film The Lives of Others, which offers a dramatic picture of daily life in the former GDR.
Numerous corporate sponsors supported the event. Volkswagen, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, was present with examples of the numerous vehicle brands in its corporate empire. E.ON, Bayer, Lufthansa, and EADS were also present, as were Coca-Cola and Apollinaris.
