Events

Political and cultural artifacts - how their meanings change.

Political iconography is established with meaning and purpose. Tampering with an icon means that the original value system has been altered, compromised or simply fallen away, creating new meanings in the process.

The East German icons and symbols presented here were created with an air of permanence. Many of the symbols and icons were manipulated, vandalized and reshaped as the Berlin Wall was rendered obsolete on November 9, 1989 and the Wende, or turning-point, began. 

Gallery hours:

Monday-Thursday 9 am - 5 pm

Friday 9 am - 3 pm

Additional special "Iconoclash!" hours:

Wednesday, November 11, 11 am - 8 pm

Thursday, November 12, 9 am - 9 pm

Thursday, December 10, 9 am - 9 pm

Saturday, December 12, 11 am - 8 pm

Opening discussion and reception, organized in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, was held on Wednesday, November 4, 6:30 - 9 pm.

6:30 pm: Discussion with panelists
Markus Meckel, Minister of Foreign Affairs, GDR (1990); Member of the German Bundestag (1990-2009)
Richard Barkley, U.S. Ambassador to East Germany (1988-1990)
Moderated by Pia Bungarten, Friedrich Ebert Foundation DC.
8 pm: Tour and reception
With explanatory remarks by Marion Deshmukh, co-curator, George Mason University

Organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Goethe-Institut.

This exhibit of political and cultural artifacts and their changed meaning commemorates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Objects on loan from the Wende Museum, Culver City, California. Support provided by Friends of the Goethe-Institut and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.