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During the week of February 18, 2020, is participating in Georgetown鈥檚 with a department-wide celebration of an often-overlooked trip Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took to Berlin on September 13, 1964.

MLK in Berlin

Already an internationally famous figure by 1964, King visited West Berlin on the invitation of Social Democratic leader Willy Brandt. He  attended a memorial service for John F. Kennedy and spoke before a crowd of 20,000 where he called the newly constructed Berlin Wall 鈥渁 symbol of the divisions of mankind on the face of the Earth.鈥�

The same day King visited Western Germany, a man named Michael Meyer attempted an unauthorized escape from the Eastern side. He made it to the Western side of the city but was shot by East German guards soon after crossing, sustaining serious injuries. After his speech, King requested to visit the spot where Meyer was shot.

King also received an invitation from East German pastor Heinrich Gr眉ber to deliver an address at a church in East Berlin. Though his State Department detail withheld his passport due to concerns that this trip to Soviet territory would spark an international incident, King crossed anyway using an American Express card as identification.

King only remained in East Berlin for a few hours that night. Responding to concerns raised by church organizers of a possible state crackdown as a result of the large crowds King tended to draw, he delivered the same speech in two separate venues. 

鈥淲e are all God鈥檚 children, and no man-made barrier can obliterate that fact,鈥� King said in reference to the division of Berlin. 

Class Presentations

During the week of February 19, 2020, each German class will spend 15 to 20 minutes discussing King鈥檚 visit during this week. Professor and Ph.D. candidate Andrea Bryant have prepared a presentation that contains details from King鈥檚 speeches, articles and multimedia materials available to all German professors and their students. 

Bryant, whose research focuses on diverse perspectives in German, enjoyed bringing a rich variety of materials on King鈥檚 visit to Georgetown.

鈥淵ou could probably do an entire semester on this visit,鈥� Bryant said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 art and literature on this in German, it鈥檚 been performed on stage.鈥�

This part of the history of the Berlin Wall is often forgotten, but these materials provide students with a unique lens to examine an important section of Germany鈥檚 past. 

鈥淓veryone teaches about the Berlin Wall. This isn鈥檛 in it.鈥� Weigert said.

Professors will use their own discretion on which materials to utilize based on the course level they鈥檙e teaching, and the presentations all offer additional resources for students looking to learn more. Bryant expects it will be a valuable learning opportunity for students at all levels each year. 

鈥淲e have some documents in English and some in German, so depending on the level and instructor, there are options on how to teach it,鈥� Weigert said. 鈥淏ut the main thing is that there鈥檚 a commitment from the entire department. This is our contribution.鈥�

A Unique Contribution

Weigert is excited that the German department has found a special way to participate in Georgetown鈥檚 MLK Initiative, a cross-campus celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

鈥淚 was always intrigued by the annual university-wide 鈥淭each-the-Speech鈥� initiative, but couldn鈥檛 quite figure out how we, in the Department of German, could contribute. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered reading that Dr. King had spent time in Germany,鈥� Weigert said. 鈥淚 looked it up, and it turned out that he had indeed visited both East and West Berlin shortly after the Berlin Wall  had been built. Teaching about this visit, then, became our unique angle to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”  

Students reacted very positively to the initial 鈥淭each-the-Visit鈥� class component last year. Plans are to repeat the 鈥淭each-the-Visit鈥� class project each year in February for the foreseeable future. 

In addition, the Department plans to share the multimedia presentation compiled on Dr. King鈥檚 visit to Berlin with colleagues at other universities.