Hope, frustration, and freedom: A debate on the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification

The fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification were events of global political significance—they were emotional and biographical turning points for millions of people, marked by hope, frustration, and freedom.

We talk to three guests from different generations about how they experienced these momentous upheavals, focusing primarily on the present and the future. Today, memories of the period following the Peaceful Revolution are more contested than ever: What open wounds did the transition to democracy and a market economy leave behind, and how are the emotions of that time being used in politics today? How do those born after 1990 view reunification? How can divisions be bridged and resignation and mistrust overcome? How can a common vision for the future emerge from the multitude of memories?

Journalist and presenter Margarethe Neubauer from rbb24 will discuss these questions with:

Hendrik Bolz, born in Leipzig in 1988, author, podcast host, and one half of the band Zugezogen Maskulin

Eckardt Rehberg, born in Ribnitz-Damgarten in 1954, former member of the German Bundestag and the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Linda Teuteberg, born in Königs Wusterhausen in 1981, deputy chairwoman of Gegen Vergessen Für Demokratie e.V. (Against Forgetting, For Democracy) and former member of the German Bundestag

You are cordially invited to this joint event organized by the Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl Foundation and the Berlin Wall Foundation.

Please register for the event.

The event will be held in German.