Frau Wagner, a much beloved former teacher, returned to King’s on Wednesday evening to address the Academic Scholars about growing up in Görlitz in the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, Communist East Germany, during the Cold War.
The talk commemorated the 35th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall on 9th November 1989, which signalled the collapse of Communism.
Mapping her upbringing against the backdrop of a society dominated by the Communist Party, this was a fascinating presentation. With a collection of personal memorabilia, including a much-prized denim jacket manufactured in the West, Birgit showed how Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy framed life. Pioneers Camps were designed to indoctrinate the youth with prescribed values and the Stasi, the Security Police, was ever-present, although the reality was not always austere, even for the daughter of an “intellectual”.
At the close of the discussion, Nick Rogers, on behalf of the Zetountes Society, thanked Frau Wagner for her valuable and entertaining insights.
Related Posts
Huge congratulations to Emilia M (L5), who became a County Champion after a spectacular performance at the NSEA Dressage County Championships at Hickstead. Having qualified in February, Emilia went head-to-head against the highest-placed riders from 15 other counties. Despite the blistering heat and a painful elbow injury from a cricket mishap the previous week, she [...]
Our rowers had an action-packed half term, kicking off with strong performances at the prestigious National Schools’ Regatta in the Ch4x and 2nd J18 categories. After intensive mid-week training at Henley-on-Thames, the squad finished the break on an absolute high at the Metropolitan Regatta, storming to a fantastic 1st place finish in the J18 [...]
We are delighted to celebrate an extraordinary achievement by Luke O (Remove), who successfully rang his first three Quarter Peals during the half-term break – an accomplishment that would be remarkable for any bellringer, let alone achieving all three within just three days. Luke's first Quarter Peal took place at Rochester Cathedral on Sunday 24th [...]
