Selected Events 2009

U.S. Civil Rights Movement and the Peaceful Revolution in the German Democratic Republic

Dr. Hartmut Keil

August 18, 2009. Leipzig Consulate General co-hosted a lecture on "The Civil Rights Movements in the USA and the Peaceful Revolution in the GDR" with the Konrad-Adenauer-foundation at the Museum of Visual Arts in Leipzig. Consul for Public Affairs James Seward greeted the audience of about 60, among them Consul General Katherine Brucker, and delivered a short introduction to the topic. Professor Hartmut Keil led off with a vivid description of the civil rights movement in the U.S. Arnold Vaatz, a veteran of the '89 movement in the German Democratic Republic and an International Visitor Program alumnus, then analyzed the Peaceful Revolution that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and unification of Germany in 1990. While Vaatz pointed out the many aspects of the two movements that are not comparable, he and Keil both underlined the importance of churches and church leadership in both movements. The lecture was followed by a lively discussion.