My 9th of November
Molecular biologist, bioethicist, and civil rights activist Jens Reich writes an essay about the “ambiguous revolution of 1989”; a driver recalls his escape as a 19-year-old across the Hungarian-Austrian border; and the Administrative Director of the MDC leafs through her diary from the autumn of ‘89. A former institute director reports on the skepticism and concerns after the fall of the Berlin Wall; a brain researcher from Heidelberg describes his departure for Berlin; and a veterinarian talks about her first-hand experiences of that exciting night on Berlin’s Sonnenallee. A physicist relives his participation in the Monday demonstrations as a student in Leipzig; and a scientist from Kiev writes about the value of freedom.; a biologist discusses the obstacles in GDR research as well as mistakes that were made in the scientific world with the integration of East and West; and Detlev Ganten, founding director of the MDC, asks questions about what succeeded and what failed after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In 1992, the MDC emerged from the former Academy of Sciences of the GDR. The project shows that a piece of German-German history was written in Berlin-Buch after 1989 – and is still being written here today. The project began with a call to all employees. The question was: “What does November 9, 1989, mean to you, and what are your memories from the year 1989?” The result is a piece of commemorative culture.
Eyewitness accounts, memories, and reflections on the peaceful revolution of 1989
The series comprises the thoughts and stories of 41 MDC employees – not only from East and West Germany, but from many different countries. We get to hear from people from many different MDC-departements: Scientists, assistants, directors, laboratory workers, former and longtime employees remember the 9th of November and tell what this date personally means to them.
A memory of shadowy figures
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"We were 19 and wanted to leave"
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Something incredible was happening
/content/something-incredible-was-happening
My souvenir from the West
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Looking to France
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Tears at work
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“What will happen to us – and to our institute?”
/content/berlin-wall-erzgraeber
📺 "Let's do it together!"
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The global event
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Spirit of freedom
/content/berlin-wall-grassmann
Ijon Tichy, Phileas Fogg, James T. Kirk
/content/ijon-tichy-phileas-fogg-james-t-kirk
Suddenly everything was colorful
/content/suddenly-everything-was-colorful
Realizing ideas together
/content/realizing-ideas-together
An open door
/content/open-door
From West to East and East to West
/content/berlin-wall-kettenmann
Wall jumper
/content/wall-jumper
Freedom and Prejudice
/content/freedom-and-prejudice
📺 Conversation with colleagues
Scientist, Blankenstein Lab (18)
/content/conversation-colleagues
Two sides of the coin
/content/two-sides-coin
A storm had been brewing for a while
/content/storm-had-been-brewing-while
Anything is possible
/content/anything-possible
My November 9th birthday
/content/my-november-9th-birthday
When thoughts do not match reality
/content/when-thoughts-do-not-match-reality
The other side of the coin
/content/other-side-coin
Hero or coward?
/content/berlin-wall-niendorf
Friendships
/content/friendships
Happy and amazed at the same time
/content/happy-and-amazed-same-time
📺 "Something was happening that fall“
/content/something-was-happening-fall
The wave of freedom
/content/wave-freedom
Thirty years on: The ambiguous revolution of 1989
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Suddenly it happened
/content/suddenly-it-happened
"So that’s the wall!“
/content/so-thats-wall
Another nail in the Soviet Union’s coffin
/content/berlin-wall-seumenicht
📺 Campus with tradition
/content/campus-tradition
"I am a Bucher"
/content/i-am-bucher
Airmail
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From Addis Ababa to the Treuhand
/content/addis-ababa-treuhand
📺 "In-betweener"
/content/berlin-wall-uckert
Historical event and commemoration
/content/historical-event-and-commemoration
From lab assistant to chemical technician
/content/lab-assistant-chemical-technician
Credits
1: privat; 2: picture-alliance/ dpa/ Istvan Bajzat; 3: pixabay; 4: privat; 5: picture alliance / NurPhoto / Emeric Fohlen; 6: ullstein bild / imageBROKER / Norbert Michalke; 7: MDC; 8: MDC; 9: picture alliance / dpa / dpa-Zentralbild; 10: privat; 11: privat; 12: picture alliance/dpa-Zentralbild/Berliner Verlag; 13: MDC; 14: picture alliance / Geisler-Fotopress / Christoph Hardt; 15: NASA/ESA/Chris Hadfield; 16: picture alliance/imageBROKER/Norbert Michalke; 17: privat; 18: MDC; 19: picture alliance/Collection Christophel/© Vestron Pictures; 20: privat; 21: picture alliance/ZB/ddrbildarchiv/Manfred Uhlenhut; 22: privat; 23: pixels; 24: ullstein bild / snapshot-photography / Tobias Seel; 25: ullstein bild/BPA; 26: privat; 27: pexels ; 28: picture alliance / ZB / Ulrich Hässler; 29: privat; 30: Bundesarchiv; 31: privat; 32: privat; 33: privat; 34: privat; 35: Christina Anders, MDC; 36: privat; 37: picture alliance/dpa-Zentralbild/Eberhard Klöppel; 38: pixabay; 39: picture alliance / 360-Berlin / Jens Knappe; 40: Sammlung Bielka, MDC