Commemorating and Memorializing 1989/1990 in Contemporary Germany: Ritual, Repetition, and Memory Prof. Stephen Brockmann \ Carnegie Mellon University This talk will examine the genesis and current condition of contemporary German memory culture with respect to 1989/1990, the period of the democratic revolution in East Germany (1989) and the reunification of the nation (1990). The talk will pay particular attention to the long debate surrounding central national monument to freedom and unity (Freiheits- und Einheitsdenkmal), which is scheduled to be opened later this year, and it will explore the tension at play between commemorating freedom, on the one hand, and unity, on the other—all in a single national monument inscribed with the words “We are the people. We are one people.” [Wir sind das Volk. Wir sind ein Volk.] Although these words emerged from the democratic revolution of 1989, they were in fact, at the time, considered to be contradictory; in contemporary German memorial culture, however, they are placed into a not-always-easy unity. The talk will also look at more vernacular and local memorial practices in Berlin and elsewhere, particularly Leipzig, and will conclude with reflections on the tension inherent in the use of the word “Volk” [people] itself. יום חמישי, 8 ביוני 2023, 12:30 קישור זום Thursday, June 8, 2023, 12:30 Zoom link