Skidmore’s ‘Berlin Wall’ prompts conversation about walls in society
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> At Skidmore College, more than 3,800 miles from the site of the former Berlin Wall, the 30th anniversary of the wall’s demise is a chance for students to explore the legacy of walls as borders across the globe.
Skidmore College faculty members Petra Watzke and Garett Wilson and their students have erected a 28-foot-long, 9-foot-tall reconstruction of the Berlin Wall that cuts through a central pedestrian artery on campus.
The structure invites students and members of the campus community to contemplate the legacy of the notorious Cold War barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989.
Saturday, Nov. 9, marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the wall. At 9 a.m., Skidmore students and faculty will tear down the wall as they pause to remember the historical moment that led to the reunification of Germany.
Watzke and Wilson are using the anniversary as an opportunity to encourage students to explore the legacy of walls, not only in Germany but across the world.
“I want students to understand the division that walls create, not only physically but in the minds of people,” said Watzke, a visiting assistant professor of German. Watzke grew up in a divided Germany and recalled how the Berlin Wall’s collapse in 1989 allowed her to visit family on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
The wall project is part of Watzke’s course The Berlin Wall, which probes the meaning of the wall in German and global history. The project was backed by Skidmore’s IdeaLab, which supports experimental approaches to learning and encourages Skidmore faculty to incorporate skills associated with collaboratively turning ideas into actual creations.
The IdeaLab initiative brought Watzke together with Wilson, artistic director in the Department of Theater, who led construction of the wall.
Skidmore’s reconstructed wall juts into a main pathway in the quad near the College’s Murray-Aikins Dining Hall and Case Center. Passersby must either move around the wall or take another path.
“The wall is a visible obstruction on campus that all members of the Skidmore campus are affected by and can interact with,” Watzke said, adding that, unlike the historical Berlin Wall, it is possible to simply move around the temporary structure.
Those who pass by the structure are also encouraged to write a message on it — similar to the graffiti that could be seen on the barrier in West Berlin.
The unique experience is an example of integrative learning at Skidmore, in which students not only read about history, but learn through a hands-on approach involving multiple academic disciplines.
As part of the course, other Skidmore faculty members have provided perspectives on walls and barriers in other locations, such as in Northern Ireland, in the Korean peninsula, along the U.S. border with Mexico, in China and in the West Bank.
The professors will participate in a roundtable discussion, “The Human Cost of Border Walls,” on Nov. 14. at the College.
Watzke said the project and her course are designed to spark other conversations about the impact of walls throughout history and today.
“The experience of creating a physical wall on campus allows students to reflect on the
political implications of border walls beyond the German context,” she said. “The wall not only relates to the historical significance of the Berlin Wall, but also invites conversations and reflections about walls as borders in history and in our own time.”