Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Heroes Of Berlin Wall Struggle, William D. Bowman

History Faculty Publications

When the Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago, on Nov. 9, 1989, symbolically signaling the end of the Cold War, it was no surprise that many credited President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for bringing it down.

But the true heroes behind the fall of the Berlin Wall are those Eastern Europeans whose protests and political pressure started chipping away at the wall years before. East German citizens from a variety of political backgrounds and occupations risked their freedom in protests against communist policies and one-party rule in what they called the "peaceful revolution." [excerpt]

Marina Balina, Charlie Schlenker

Interviews for WGLT

IWU Professor Marina Balina spoke with Charlie Schlenker about the cultural changes that have occurred since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Balina, along with the International Studies Program at IWU, hosted a three day symposium, “The Freedom to Speak, Create, and Dream: 25 years of human experience after the fall of the Iron Curtain”, October 5-7, 2014.

`Roaming In The Garden Of Freedom:' Constructions Of U.S. Ideology, Identity, And The Past In Television News's Anniversary Coverage About The Berlin Wall, Rachel Eve Somerstein

Dissertations - ALL

This study employs a multimodal close reading to examine and compare how NBC's Nightly News and various primetime CNN news shows construct the story of the Berlin Wall's opening from 1990 through 2009. It does so first by examining the networks' 1989 coverage and assessing the themes and ideologies circulated when the Berlin Wall's opening was breaking news. These themes and ideologies are used as a baseline to assess anniversary coverage that aired from 1990 through 2009. In the process of this close reading, special attention is paid to silences and omissions amid itin images and spoken discourses; the circulation …