The Eastern Michigan University German Program celebrated
its fifth German-American Day, Oct. 7, with a variety of
events designed to highlight German culture and activities
on campus.
The event featured a program with speakers, a film on
the fall of the Berlin Wall and a German dinner with music.
The U.S. Congress had designated Oct. 6 as the official
day of commemoration to honor German-Americans.
"There are 43 million German-Americans today," said Betsy
Morgan, assistant to the dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences, during opening remarks at the Student Center
Auditorium. "Germans have contributed to music, literature
and the sciences such as cell therapy and Freud, and especially
chemistry."
 |
RECALLING THE FALL OF THE WALL: Kai Blum
(second from left), an EMU lecturer who is originally
from East Germany, discusses the fall of the Berlin
Wall in 1989. The panel discussion was part of
German-American Day on campus Oct. 7. |
Margrit Zinggeler, professor of German, said that this
is a special year because of the 60 th year of the founding
of the German Federal and Democratic Republics, and the
20 th year since the Berlin Wall was torn down. Presentations
included topics such as Germany and Europe, German for
Careers and the benefits of study abroad programs.
In her welcoming remarks, Morgan praised both students
and faculty for their hard work.
"EMU's German program has exploded under Drs. Carla Damiano
and Margrit Zinggeler," said Morgan, former head of foreign
languages and bilingual studies, a department now known
as world languages.
Other speakers were lecturers Kai Blum, originally from
East Germany; and Walburga Zahn, from what was West Germany;
gave vivid descriptions of their experiences of the events
in 1989.
“Nobody could believe that the East German people
could bring down the wall after 40 years of division," Blum
said.
Eastern Michigan graduates Jason Fisher and Josh Gartner,
both Fulbright Teaching Assistants, talked about teaching
English in Germany and Austria. German graduate assistant
Kim Kulhanek encouraged students to take risks and study
abroad. Several students also talked about their six-week
trip to Dusseldorf and Berlin, and how it changed them.
Alumni Josepf Moreman ('91) and Amanda Melone, ('07),
from the Eaton Corporation, also spoke about how the benefits
of studying another language helped them in their jobs.
Moreman works in sales for PTC Software, and Melone is
with the Eaton Corporation.
Following the remarks, German film clips about the fall
of the Berlin Wall were shown. Scenes included demonstrations
against the wall and scenes of its destruction, and interviews
with East Germans as they entered the west.
The one-day program attracted alumni, area high school
teachers and their German students, alumni, German scholarship
donors and other guests. Provost Jack Kay greeted
an old German-American family friend and stayed for the
film documentaries. EMU President Susan Martin addressed
the participants at the authentic German dinner that followed
the program in the Student Center Ballroom.
