The Goethe-Institut in collaboration with CCGES is pleased to present a free screening of  ”Under Control” (2011) a documentary film directed by Volker Sattel on Friday, November 11 beginning at 6 pm in Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Avenue). Filmed in several German nuclear power plants over a three-year period, Sattel set out to show what goes on inside the walls of such facilities. After a well-received debut at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2011, the film had its theatrical release in Germany a matter of weeks after the Fukushima disaster and played an important role in the debates around Germany’s decision to scrap nuclear power by 2022.

Volker Sattel will be present at this screening and the film will be followed by a question and answer period with the director.

All are welcome!

Date: November 11, 2011
Time: 6:00-8:30
Location: Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Avenue)

In German history, the date of November 9th carries with it the memory of a number of historical events including the Nazi-led anti-Jewish pogrom in 1938 and the breaching of
the Berlin Wall in 1989. In an effort to acknowledge themultiple ways in which this important date resonates in the Germany of the present, CCGES is presenting a series of activities on November 9, 2011 which are intended to do justice to the layers of memory which accompany this day.

Lecture: Berlin – A City Facing Its Legacy (part of Holocaust Education Week program)

Dr. Thorsten Wagner, Danish Institute for Study Abroad

At noon, the Centre will host Dr. Thorsten Wagner, an expert on modern European Jewish History and the Holocaust from the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, for a lecture presented as part of Holocaust Education Week . Entitled “Berlin – A City Facing Its Legacy”, this talk will examine the way the German capital has dealt with the physical remants of its history and the ongoing search for commemoration, admonition and learning. The talk will take place in room 749 York Research Tower from noon to 1:30 pm and is open to all.

Berlin's Brandenburg Gate behind the Berlin Wall (1989)

Poster Exhibit Marking 50th Anniversary of the Construction of the Berlin Wall

To mark the breach of the Berlin Wall on November 9th, 1989, CCGES is pleased to present a poster exhibit on the history of this structure all day inYork’s Vari Hall. This exhibit was prepared by the German Foreign Ministry for the 50th anniversary of the building of the Wall which took place on August 13, 1961 and will appear at York thanks to the generosity of the German Consulate Toronto.

CCGES Faculty Affiliates and Staff will be present in Vari Hall between 9 am and 4:30 pm to offer information on the exhibit and this chapter of German history. Those interested in a more formal tour of the exhibit, are asked to contact Centre Coordinator John Paul Kleiner at < jkleiner@yorku.ca> or 416 736 5695.

Film Screenings

Divided Heaven (1964), 10 am, 749 York Research Tower

Wings of Desire (1986), 2 pm, York Research Tower

Finally, we will be screening two films thematically related to the Wall in room 749 York Research Tower.

At 10 am, we screen Divided Heaven (1964) a story of love, idealism and disappointment against a Cold War backdrop which is based on a work by one of East Germany’s most respected authors, Christa Wolf.

At 2 pm, we will show Wings of Desire (1986), Wim Wenders classic tale set in 1980s Berlin of an angel who falls in love with a mortal and gives up his immortality to return to earth to live a most human of lives.

Mr. Harald Leibrecht, Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation for the German government

CCGES and the European Union Centre of Excellence are pleased to present Mr. Harald Leibrecht a member of the German Parliament and the German government’s Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation on Friday, October 7th from 10-11 am in room 626 York Research Tower (building #95 on the map found here).

Mr. Leibrecht speak on “The Crisis of the Euro: A German View”, outlining the positions taken on the Euro crisis by the German government as well as the country’s opposition parties. In addition, he will provide some insight into German popular opinion on this important matter.

All are welcome and light refreshments will be served.

Date: Friday, October 7th, 2011
Time: 10-11 am
Location: 626 York Research Tower

Prof. Dr. Viola Georgi

CCGES Visiting Scholar Prof. Dr. Viola Georgi (Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin) will lecture on the topic “Migration and History: Young Immigrants and the Memory of the Holocaust in Germany” on Wednesday, October 5th from 12:30 – 2:00 pm in room 749 York Research Tower (building #95 on the map found here – please note that during construction, the YRT is best accessed via the 2nd floor crossover between it and and York Lanes).

Viola Georgi is a highly-respected German scholar who has published widely on a number of themes including diversity and citizenship in education. In particular, she has worked on historical consciousness among immigrant youth and the concept of European citizens education.  Recently she edited The Making of Citizens in Europe: New Perspectives on Citizenship Education in Europe (2008) and Crossover Geschichte. Historisches Bewusstsein Jugendlicher in der Einwanderungsgesellschaft (2009, with Rainer Ohliger). In addition to her academic work, she also sits on several advisory boards including that of the German Ministry of Family, Seniors, Women and Youth’s committee “Youth for Diversity, Tolerance and Democracy”.

This lecture is a co-presentation of CCGES and the Faculty of Education. Prof. Dr. Georgi’s stay at CCGES has been made possible by the generous support of the DAAD – German Academic Exchange Service.

All are welcome and light refreshments will be served.

Date: October 5, 2011
Time: 12:30-2:00 pm
Location: 749 York Research Tower (building #95 on the map found here)

On Monday, October 3rd, CCGES is pleased to present a lecture by Dr. Klaus Hödl, Executive Director of the Centre for Jewish Studies at Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria, entitled “Jews in Vienese popular culture around 1900”.

Viennese Jews of the Fin-de-Siècle period are the topic of numerous books in Jewish studies. The overwhelming majority of those books deal with Jews’ contributions to ‘high culture’ and science. A focus on personalities such as Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Arthur Schnitzler, Arnold Schönberg, et.al. has led to the assumption that Jews contributed merely to intellectual cultural trends, and that they had no impact on popular and mass culture.

A closer look at the emergence of mass culture in Austria, however, reveals that Jews were very prominent as organizers, producers, and consumers. In some fields they were even at the forefront of new trends. Against this background, Jews closely interacted with non-Jews in the development of popular and mass culture; the former were not absent from this cultural terrain, but helped significantly in its formation. This  presentation focuses on this role of Jews in Austrian popular culture.

This event is being co-presented by the Centre with the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies at York and Hillel Canada.

All are welcome and light refreshments will be provided.

Date: Monday, October 3, 2011
Time: 3-5 pm
Location: 764 York Research Tower(#95 on the map found here. During subway construction at York, the Research Tower is best accessed from the crossover connecting the Tower with the 2nd floor of York Lanes (building #24 on the map).