Don't come before next year! I need this year's 20-years-that-the Wall- came-down public awareness raising circus as preparation time so I know what you're expecting to see from me.
On 20 Feb., 20:26, frantheman <[email protected]> wrote: > You'd be very welcome, Chris. Any time. There's just one small > problem. I've been in Berlin exactly twice in my life, the most > memorable being to see Roger Waters and a prominent cast of thousands > perform "The Wall" on the ruins of the Potsdamer Platz in 1990. Gabby > would have to guide us both (something I could look forward to!). > Asking me to show you Berlin would be like asking a Californian to > show you New York. > > You see, I live in the Rhineland. If you were to come before Monday, I > could show you the Cologne Carnival. Now that is something that you > have to experience - there's no way to really describe it. The > following link is hardly even a whiff of a hint > :-)http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,609031,00.html > > Francis > > On 20 Feb., 19:59, Chris Jenkins <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I have a piece of the Berlin Wall which I won in a contest, shortly > > after it came down, some essay contest in Middle School having to do > > with freedom. I was 13. I remember reading such inspiring tales of > > bravery, people being packed into trunks to be smuggled through the > > checkpoints, and the description of a cold and grey East Germany, and > > a warm, colorful West. > > > I wish I could come visit, Fran. I would love to have you and Gab as guides. > > > On Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 1:07 PM, frantheman <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > > An Exhibition has just opened in the "Haus der Kulturen der Welt" in > > > Berlin with the title, "Globale Geschichten - Global Stories", whose > > > basic theme is the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. > > > > Yesterday evening, the historian, Timothy Garton Ash presented an > > > historical hypothesis. Up to 1989, Berlin played a central role in > > > global political symbolism. On top of the ruins of the centre of Nazi > > > fascism, one could travel in ten minutes from a liberal western > > > democracy to a communist centre. The fall of the Wall in November 1989 > > > was an event in which Berlin reached a symbolic climax as a world > > > focus. The aftermath saw the beginning of a new era in which the world > > > was no longer determined by the conflict of European ideologies, > > > centrally in Europe, and became simultaneously more united > > > (globalisation) and splintered into multi-polar interests, politics > > > and cultures. The Age of European Ideologies, beginning in 1917 with > > > the October Revolution, was over, and the world-wide significance of > > > Europe - and Berlin as a symbol of the clash of ideologies - had > > > disappeared. > > > > (For those who understand German, the following podcast goes into more > > > details:http://ondemand-mp3.dradio.de/file/dradio/2009/02/20/dlf_20090220_175...) > > > > The basic function of historians is to structure the past, to discover > > > (invent?) structures, lay out connections of significance and thus, by > > > putting forward interpretative hypotheses, help us to understand our > > > world(s) and ourselves better. There are always many more than one > > > model available in history and it is the interaction of various models > > > and interpretations which keep historians in work, discussion, and > > > controversy with each other. > > > > I find new historical models and interpretations fascinating because > > > they can give us a sudden new view on the world as it was and as it is > > > today. Garton Ash's interpretation, for example, takes us beyond many > > > conventional views of historical structures (from a European point of > > > view) which focusses our attention on eras delineated by the two world > > > wars of the 20th. Century. If we follow his model, WWI is better seen > > > as the last gasp of the 19th. Century world order and WWII as the > > > cataclymic military expression of an ongoing experiment in defining > > > the world according to ideology. I remember having a similar > > > experience while reading Fernand Braudel's masterpiece, "The > > > Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II." > > > > From the point of view of the historian, the events since 1989 are too > > > recent to seriously comment on. Trends and structures develop over > > > time, and we need a certain distance before we can recognise patterns. > > > Still, I suspect that future historians will at least be organising > > > one chapter into (working titles);1989-2008: Globalisation, Phase I, > > > or, 1989-2008: The Dominance of the Dollar, or 1989-2008: The Period > > > of the Mighty Financial Markets. > > > > Francis --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. 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