Free Berlin
Meg Hewings
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Norbert Enker's Grenzfall
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A piece of the original Berlin Wall is on permanent exhibition at the World Trade Centre in Montreal. This Nov. 9 at 12:30 p.m. sharp, it will be the commemorative meeting spot to mark the exact moment 20 years ago when it officially fell.While the Berlin Wall wasn't the first or last separation barrier erected to divide citizens and restrict their movement - there's the Great Wall of China and Israel's West Bank barrier - few contemporary historical moments match its triumphant fall and paved the way for German reunification in 1990.
"The fall of the wall had real geopolitical implications. It signalled the end of the Cold War, [and in] many ways the European Union was only possible thanks to this transformation of the Eastern European states," says Mechtild Manus, director of the Goethe-Institut. "This moment proved it's possible to change the world without violence."
The Institut (418 Sherbrooke E.) offers various events to celebrate the momentous occasion, including a series of feature and documentary films (which screen until mid-December) and a photo exhibition by Norbert Enker that depicts the development of the former border area.
Two Berliners will also share their experience of the opening of the borders at the Institut, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. Historian Stefan Wolle was part of the opposition movement and participated in the round table talks. He later published the
first book (a bestseller) on the secret police and will discuss the relationship between East and West Germans today. DJ Wolle XDP organized some of the first legendary sound-light-space installations and techno warehouse parties in East Berlin and founded club Bunker. No Berlin Wall fall-down party would be complete without a commemorative techno party. Co-presented by Mutek and featuring DJ Wolle XDP and duo Scion, the afterparty takes place at Sala Rossa, Nov. 9.
