Dickinson's Clarke Forum Presents Discussion of Watershed Moments in 20th-century Germany
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Panel marks anniversary year of two monumental events
Dickinson’s Clarke Forum will mark the anniversaries of two monumental events in recent German history with a panel discussion about the country’s continuously changing cultural and political landscape. The discussion, “Reinventing Germany, Again and Again,” will take place on Monday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter (ATS) Auditorium, 360 W. Louther St. The lecture will also be livestreamed on YouTube.
The panelists will discuss the three major changes that occurred in 20th-century Germany—the fall of Nazi Germany, the creation of a divided Germany and Germany's reunification after the fall of the Iron Curtain—and the reinventions of German society these events put in motion. The timing of this discussion is of special significance, as 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the West German constitution, which saw the formation of Germany’s current government structure. This year also marks the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event that sparked reunification of the country.
The panelists are:
- Matthias Rogg, a German colonel and historian, currently teaching at the U.S. Army War College, and a founding chairman of the German Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (GIDS), a think tank for the Bundeswehr and the German government. He was the director of the German National Museum of Military History and has published on the role of the military in East Germany.
- Janine Ludwig, the academic director of the Durden Dickinson Program in Bremen, Germany, and a distinguished literary scholar specializing in East German and postwar literature. She has co-authored two volumes on post-East Germany literature.
- Anne Rabe, a German playwright, screenwriter, essayist and poet, born in 1986 in Wismar. Her works focus on the legacy of East Germany and its impact on contemporary German identity, often focusing on themes of memory, identity and societal change. She is an important voice in discussions about Germany's evolving national identity.
Each of the panelists will draw from their own lived experiences in Germany as well as their academic expertise. This discussion will be moderated by Antje Pfannkuchen, Clarke Forum co-director.
This Clarke Forum event is part of Dickinson’s Germany on Campus program and is co-sponsored by the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Max Kade Foundation and the Department of German. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s 2024-25 theme, Alternative Models.
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Published November 5, 2024