Event Highlights: Remembering the Fall of the Berlin Wall
On November 6-7 the Center for the Study of Europe, in collaboration with the BU Arts Initiative and the Goethe-Institut Boston, hosted a series of events in commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago featuring the award winning German filmmaker, author, and cultural nomad Marten Persiel and Polish journalist Agata Pyzik.
On Thursday afternoon, Pyzik took part in a lunch discussion entitled “German Unification: Myth vs. Reality” centered around theme of her book: Poor but Sexy: Culture Clashes in Europe East and West. Published this summer by Zero Books, the book offers a reassessment of Eastern Europe during the Cold War, of East-West relations, and the realities of post-communist life. Pyzik was joined by visiting researcher Lesia Kovalenko, Associate Professor of the World History and International Relations at Zaporizhzhya National University in Ukraine, who shared her research on public perceptions of German unification in mass media and in British and American cartoons in particular.
In the evening, Persiel and Pyzik were joined by Igor Lukes, Professor of History and International Relations at Boston University and Honorary Consul General of the Czech Republic for “Lost in Unification,” a panel discussion on life in Europe before and after 1989. Persiel and Pyzik’s sympathetic assessments of life under communism were contested by many in the audience and a lively conversation ensued.
Listen to the discussion on WBUR’s World of Ideas:
The next day, with help from BU’s skateboarding community and THuRO Skate & Snow Shop in Brookline, the Center organized a “Jump the Wall” high ollie contest on Cummington Way. About 20 local skaters competed for the iPad Mini prize.
On Friday evening, in collaboration with BU Cinemathque, we screened “This Ain’t California,” Persiel’s hybrid documentary on skater subculture in the former GDR. Over 200 people attended the screening, which was followed by a conversation with Persiel about the making of the film and the story and personalities behind it.