WINNIPEG, MB – It was a day the world held its breath.
On November 9th, 1989 Gunter Schabowski, Minister of Propaganda for East Germany, announced at a press conference that the border to West Berlin would be opened for “private trips abroad”. The news spread like wildfire and thousands of East Germans immediately gathered at checkpoints demanding passage. The border guards, overwhelmed, were forced to let them pass. After 28 years, the Wall dividing East and West Berlin had fallen.
While the wall stood, some 5,000 people were said to have reached the other side. However in its thirty year history 100 people were shot dead and thousands of families were separated.
The University of Winnipeg will mark this historic 20th anniversary with an exhibit and film series beginning with remarks by Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President and Vice-Chancellor, UWinnipeg on Monday, November 2, 2009. All events are free and open to the public.
Special Event
Opening Reception with Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President & Vice Chancellor, UWinnipeg
Where: Hamilton Galleria, UWinnipeg Library – 4th floor mezzanine
When: Monday, November 2, 2009, 12:30 pm
From the Peaceful Revolution to German Unity
An Exhibition of posters documenting the fall of the Berlin Wall and Germany’s subsequent reunification on October 3, 1990. Books about this historic event as well as East German children’s books and other artifacts will also be on display.
Where: Hamilton Galleria, UWinnipeg Library – 4th floor mezzanine
When: November 2 to 15, open during Library hours
Film Series
Monday, November 2, 2009, 4:00-6:00 pm, Room 2M63
One, Two, Three
USA, 1961. Director: Billy Wilder. B&W, 109 min.
Hilarious, fast-paced comedy about romance and politics in divided Berlin. A Coca-Cola executive, brilliantly played by James Cagney in his last starring role, agrees to look after his boss’s visiting daughter, hoping to earn a major promotion. But the American girl promptly falls in love with, and marries, a flaming young communist from East Berlin. Cagney’s character has to find a solution quickly before her capitalist daddy arrives in town.
Thursday, November 5, 2009, 4:00-6:00 pm, Room 2M63
The Architects (Die Architekten)
East Germany, 1990. Director: Peter Kahane. Colour, 102 min. English subtitles.
The last film produced by the East German studio DEFA. Brenner, a bored architect in his late thirties, is given the chance of his career: he is put in charge of a project to design a social centre in a new residential area in East Berlin. His team develops ambitious, forward-looking plans, but it’s soon clear that they won’t be able to realize them. Making small compromises at first, Brenner soon finds himself part of the very system he wanted to fundamentally change.
Monday, November 9, 2009, 4:00-6:00 pm, Room 2M63
Sonnenallee
Germany, 1999. Director: Leander Haussmann. Colour, 94 min. English subtitles.
A group of kids grows up on the short, wrong (east) side of the Sonnenallee boulevard in Berlin, right next to one of the few border crossings between East and West reserved for West German citizens. The antics of these kids, their families, the friends and relatives who come to visit from the West, and the East German border guards, all serve to illustrate the absurdity of everyday life in the former East Germany.
Thursday, November 12, 2009, 4:00-6:00 pm, Room 2M6
Berlin is in Germany
Germany, 2001. Director: Hannes St Colour, 90 min. English subtitles.
After a lengthy prison sentence which began in the days of the GDR, Martin has now been released into a unified Berlin. He meets up with old friends and with his wife, who now lives with their son (whom he has never met) and another man. Due to a mistake, he is caught up in a conflict with the police, but with his wife’s help, he is released and given another chance.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXHIBIT AND FILM SERIES
Dr. Alexander Freund, Chair in German-Canadian Studies, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204. 786.9009 E: a.freund@uwinnipeg.ca
Web: http://germancanadian.uwinnipeg.ca
