Past
In a dynamic discussion, Dagmar Hovestädt, spokesperson for the Stasi Records archive, and historian John Connelly (UC Berkeley) will explore the legacy of the Berlin Wall and the changing role of institutions in addressing and shaping the memory of the “Wende.”
"Every Man Has His Breaking Point": Reagan, Brainwashing, and the Movies (2017) tells the story of Hollywood’s attempt to capture the realities of North Korean indoctrination techniques in the almost-forgotten movie Prisoner of War (1954), featuring future President Ronald Reagan.
During the second half of the twentieth century, one could stumble upon a Marx bust almost anywhere in the world. By the turn of the millennium, when the vast majority of communist nations had given way to capitalism, thousands of these monuments were destroyed, vandalized, or sold. So what remains of Karl Marx in popular representation today? Which monuments are still around, even if completely reinterpreted? How is Marx depicted in today’s films, comics, street art, social media, and even consumer products? And how do these discussions relate to current debates regarding monuments in the United States?
Join scholars Sina Rahmani and Choi Chatterjee, artist Farrah Karapetian, and Wende Museum Chief Curator and Director of Programming Joes Segal for an illuminating discussion of the never-ending story of Karl Marx in the public eye.
Like a fossil, the Marx-Engels Forum, an ambitious East German monument project, occupies a central historical spot and desirable real estate in the middle of Berlin’s new center. In this experimental documentary, Jürgen Böttcher takes a critical look at how the meaning of monuments changes.
The Wende Museum's Chief Curator Joes Segal will be offering a special look at our current exhibition "War of Nerves: Psychological Landscapes of the Cold War." The event will explore the role of the curator, the work that goes into producing a Wende exhibition, and will culminate with a behind-the-scenes workshop.
The Jewish Women's Theatre, which develops and adapts stories celebrating a diverse Jewish population, will be at the Wende with an evening of stories, plays, and songs of Russian-speaking Jews. Join us for an evening of entertainment that will offer a deeper sense of human connection through tales of Russian Jewish life in the former Soviet Union and in America today.
Please join your neighbors, The Wende Museum, The Mayme Clayton Library & Museum, and The Culver City Historical Society for a self‐guided touring day of each of the museums' collections.
Music at the Wende: Jacaranda Music - "Songs of Stones."
Please join us on Friday, October 26, for drinks and a curator's talk about culture and power.
A lecture by Historian Karen Petrone on "Gender and War Memory in Putin's Russia"
Screening of Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov's "Operation Wedding" followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. Co-presented by the Goethe-Institut.
The Cold War divided the world, leaving people on each side wondering what life was really like on the other side of the Iron Curtain. To shed light on the ways Cold War history impacted human lives, the Fiona Chalom and Joel Aronowitz Historical Human Witness Project has been gathering oral histories from those who lived in the Eastern Bloc during the period from 1945 to 1991. This event will be a live interview conducted at the Wende Museum.
(Monday) Evening Concerts (MEC) presents "Odyssey"
Please join us for another iteration of The Wende Museum's popular discussion series Art - Past - Present with L.A. muralist EL MAC and writer, filmmaker and curator Rodrigo Ribera d'Ebre.
This year's national Smithsonian Museum Day theme is "Women Making History." Join us at the Wende Saturday, 9/22, at 3 p.m. for a gallery spotlight talk on women history-makers of the Cold War era.