Round Table Discussion "20 years without the Berlin Wall:  expectations, disappointments, achievements"

On November 9, 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall started the collapse of the Communist regime in East Germany and, thus, the collapse of the Eastern Bloc as well as of the Soviet Union. This is one of the most important events in contemporary history.

Centre for Urban History of East-Central Europe hosted the round table discussion organised by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ukraine. The discussion joined L’viv’s historians, educators, public figures who were going to consider how Europe had changed for the last 20 years, and whether the fall of the Berlin Wall fulfilled the expectations. The event was moderated by Volodymyr Pavliv.

The special guest of the round table discussion was Wolfgang Templin, oppositionist, leader of the oldest opposition group in East Germany "Initiative for Peace and Human Rights." Now Wolfgang Templin researches the history of East Germany and the rule of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. He authored the book "A Game of Colours: Ukraine after the Orange Revolution". He also publishes articles and reviews of books in the history of East Germany, on reforms in today’s Poland and its Eastern neighbours – Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus as well as the development of Ukraine after 2005.

Credits

Сover Image: The Berlin Wall. January 1990