‘Power of People’ to commemorate 25th anniversary of Berlin Wall’s fall

Mario Röllig spent three months in East Berlin’s Hohenschönhausen Prison in 1987 for trying to flee communist East Germany. He will tell his story at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 9, at UNC Charlotte Center City, during an afternoon of public activities to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The event, called “The Power of People,” is free and open to the public, but registration is requested. The German Language and Culture Foundation is hosting “The Power of People – 25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall” in conjunction with the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the Department of Languages and Culture Studies. Each year, the foundation awards dozens of scholarships to UNC Charlotte students who are majoring in German, and it works with the department to provide hands-on learning opportunities with German companies in Charlotte and abroad.

In addition to Röllig’s talk, there will be simultaneous showings of a documentary and feature film “The Lives of Others,” beginning at 3 p.m.; a symbolic tearing down of the “wall” around 5:30 p.m.; and an exhibit of photography, news articles and student projects that were a collaboration among Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Gaston County Schools and Deutsche Schule Charlotte, the German Language School.

Röllig was 19 when he got into trouble for refusing to become one of the 189,000 “informal employees” the Stasi (East Germany’s Ministry for State Security) recruited to spy on friends, colleagues, neighbors and relatives. The Stasi punished him by constantly tailing him, harassing him and demoting him to a dishwashing job. He decided to escape but was caught and imprisoned in the secret prison. After three months, Röllig was released, and in 1988, he was allowed to defect under a prisoner-sale arrangement with West Germany that the East German regime used to earn hard currency.

The Berlin Wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) starting in August 1961. It cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin for 41 years. Nov. 9, 1989, is considered the date on which the Berlin Wall fell.

On Thursday, Nov. 6, Röllig will share insights from his experiences with UNC Charlotte students, faculty and staff. The Office of International Programs will host a reception at 6 p.m. followed by Röllig’s talk at 7 p.m. Both campus events will be in the College of Health and Human Services, Room 155. RSVPs are not required.

Photo: (inset) Mario Röllig