Wannsee Forum, Berlin
This instutution combines cultural and political education.
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Short films
The following three short movies were produced during the EUSTORY Youth Academy “The fall of the Berlin Wall – from Europe back to Berlin” in August 2009 with young students from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Chech Republic, Serbia and Switzerland - in Co-operation with wannseeFORUM, Berlin.
Please have a look at the short film "Once Upon A Time In The East/West" and "How To Cross The Border In Less Than One Day", the fairy tale which soon turns into a short abstract of the German history from the construction of the wall until its fall in 1989 as well as the silent movie The Monk - based on a true story from 1989.
EUSTORY Academies in 2009
22- 29 August in Berlin / Germany
“The fall of the Berlin Wall and its histories – from Europe back to Berlin”
In cooperation with: wannseeFORUM, Berlin
Photo: Tina Gotthardt
31 young people from all over Europe used this occasion to meet in Berlin and to discuss these changes, its origins and its consequences. They came from: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine.
They started the week with stories related with the fall of the wall from their countries: Every one brought a story, an interview with a family member, an event that happened after the fall, etc.
Photo: Tina Gotthardt
These stories were the basis for further research within the microcosm of Berlin, a city that was especially affected by the changes in 1989. Berlin has changed a lot since 1989, especially in the makeup of its population: People from all over the world have moved to this European metropolis. For these new inhabitants, the former division of the city may not seem important. Nevertheless, the “Wall” is still present in the cityscape of Berlin and in the minds of its inhabitants: Some people who used to live in the divided city still avoid visiting “the other side.”
During this Academy, the participants researched the history of a particular street that was divided by the Wall. They interviewed in groups inhabitants of both sides of the street, in order to find out about how such a political event has influenced their daily routines.
Photo: Tina Gotthardt
Rahul (16), from Germany: “I enjoyed the interviews a lot. They were a very nice opportunity to learn about the Wall from "living sources". This is a way of approaching history that is unfortunately a bit neglected at school.”
Šarká: “The most interesting element of the program was certainly the interviews with the witnesses. There were great moments: the feelings of these people were so intense, and they shared their memories with us.”
The impressions of the whole week were finallyput into a presentation, consisting of film- and theatre work. The group was divided into two parts, one worked on different scenes and the other made four films dealing with the topic wall, separation and changes.
Photo: Tina Gotthardt
For Giorgia (18) from Italy the theatre work was special: “I was surprised and impressed that we don`t only use theater techniques during the workshop but also for the presentation of the our homework storie. I liked it because made the presentation of the group work more effective, strong and equal, all the people in the group had a role. I was also keen on the theater workshop because to me it represented a way of getting to know each other without words, just with our body's speech! I think it was great.”
Photo: Tina Gotthardt
A highlight of the EUSTORY Academy in Berlin was of course the work with various types of media. At the end of the Academy, the results of the research efforts were put together to a video - theatre collage.
Anna-Liisa from Estonia summarizes her experiences: ” So many great things happened in only one week’s time: I got so many new friends, new experiences working with a group, widened my knowledge about making an interview, had great practice for my English; I got to know so many things about Berlin wall and also about movie making. This was the best week of my summer, what also inspired me to continue researching history. That week showed me that history is necessary to know, but it can also be interesting and fun at the same time. EUSTORY Youth Academy in Berlin was simply the best thing that happened to me!”
