Berlin, Germany:  October 24 - 28

Arriving Wednesday at the Berlin Tegel airport, all the Fellows will be together once again, and staying at the Arcotel Velvet.

At 8pm, we have a welcome dinner on German foreign policy.  We'll meet Dr. Constanze Stelzmuller, MMF Berlin Office Director, Dr. Tanja Wunderlich, MMF Program Officer, and Ralf Beste, a journalist with Der Spiegel (MMF alumnus 2000).

Thursday morning, we'll head to the Bundeszentrale fur Politische Bildung for a briefing on the German political system and the German educational system.

Then we'll head over to the Carl von Ossietzky Oberschule in Berlin-Kruezberg for another meeting with 12th grade students and their teachers to discuss migration and integration in Germany.

We'll then have lunch at the Turkish restaurant Hasir in Kreuzberg.

Thursday afternoon at 3:30, Gwendena Real Bird and I will meet with Dr. Barbara John, former Commissioner for Foreigners and Immigrants in the Berlin Senate, and now Director of the Berlin Community Foundation.

Thursday evening, we'll be splitting up to go to the homes of various Berliners.  I'll let you know my host will be when I find out.

Friday morning, we head to the German Foreign Office to meet with Christoph Eichhorn, Head of Division for USA and Canada Affairs, for a briefing on Germany's foreign policy and transatlantic relations.

Then we head to the Reichstag, to meet with Herman Grohe, a Member of Parliament, for a discussion on "A Transatlantic Comparison:  Religion and Politics."

Friday afternoon, we have some free time.  I'm not sure yet what I'll do, but that boat tour of Berlin sounds promising.

Friday evening, we have a dinner at the Clarchens Ballhaus with German MMF and Manfred Worner Program alumni.  Fellows galore.

Saturday morning, we have some more free time.

Saturday afternoon, we will meet with Heike Marquardt, the Commissioner for Foreigners of the Council of Lichtenberg (a district of Berlin), who will give us a tour of the former Stasi prison in East Berlin.  Most of the prison and artifacts have survived intact, so we will get an opportunity to see relics of communist tyranny first hand.  After a two hour tour and an hour's break, we will meet again with Heike Marquart to discuss life in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR); we'll meet at Cafe im Park.

Saturday evening, we'll be debriefed on the Marshall Memorial Fellowship Program, have an informal dinner, SET OUR CLOCKS FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS (oh, Ben Franklin, you scoundrel -- you've even corrupted the Germans!) and head to bed, eager to return home the next day to our families.


And that's it!  I'll be updating this site as we go, and as internet access and time allows. 

I'd enjoy having your comments at Stephen@Hollingshead.com. 

Thanks for visiting.

Stasi Prison, East Berlin

The Communist state that called itself the German Democratic Republic imprisoned "enemies of the state" in this prison.  Their secret police, the Stasi, employeed 19,000 full time people, with 180,000 paid informants in East Berlin alone (a city of perhaps the size then of San Antonio today).  Any complaint against the state was considered a crime -- even if made in private.  Unknown to the general population, the Stasi opened every letter sent through the mail, searching for evidence of crimes against the state.  If they found it, they would close the letter and send it on, so as not to betray their methods.  But they would the find a "legal" way to obtain the same information.

Prisoners were blindfolded and driven around even if they were headed to the infirmary next door, so that they were never aware of their surroundings.  This prison marks the epitome of the authoritarian state.  Even the guards guarded each other.  The interrogators were taped while they were taping their prisoners.  No one was safe.