Feb 19–22, 2009

1989 – Global Histories

Theme Days

Exhibition, readings, talks, interviews, music, radio

1989 was a decisive year in the history of the Twentieth Century. The opening of the Berlin Wall was not the only break with the past with international consequences: on every single continent, unforeseeable upheavals occurred whose impact is still felt today. Two decades on, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (founded in March 1989) examines the global significance of these events and developments.

1989 year saw the massacre at Tiananmen Square in China, the death of Khomeini in Iran, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan (with Its impact on the whole of Central Asia), the end of the South American dictatorships and the triumph of neo-liberalism, the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola, Namibia’s independence and the end of apartheid in South Africa. Crucial, too, were the consequences of the fall of the Wall for immigrants and their children in East and West Germany. By highlighting six regions, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt is shifting attention away from Europe to focus on a patchwork of interrelated events whose ramifications transcend regional boundaries. With our programme we invite guests to listen as the historical events of 1989 are narrated by a variety of people – actors, dissidents, artists, authors and scientists, among others – whose biographies are inextricably tied up with these transformations.

Readings, talks, interviews, music, radio and an exhibition with international archive materials, photographs, films and magazines.

In cooperation with the Forum Berlin “1989 – 2009. Erinnern in die Zukunft” of the ‘Stiftung Zukunft Berlin’, the ‘Freie Universitaet Berlin’ and the Hertie School of Governance.

See the exhbitions: 1989 in Pictures, Brotherland is Broke and the sound installation Are we the People, too?