Do you remember where you were on these days: 11/9/1989, 9/11/2001, and 11/9/2016? I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears when these events occurred! My life in the U.S. had just started around the time when the Berlin Wall fell on 11/9/1989. Seeing the pictures on the news, my first thought was: “That must be one of these American Reality Shows.” On a business trip in Germany on 9/11/2001, I watched the towers of the World Trade Center burning on German TV, in fear of the coming apocalypse. After Trump’s victory speech on 11/9/2016 there was only silence in the room.

We will explore the changes to our world from the time when the Cold War ended to the present, and discuss topics like:
*Who won the Cold War?
*Rising tensions in united Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
*Developments in the former Eastern Bloc countries and the former states of the Soviet Union.
*The impact of the 2001 terrorist attacks on Western democracies.
*The mission of the U.S. military and NATO in the new world order.
*The role of the UN in conflict situations and in the effort to protect our living space.
*Is the leading role of the U.S. in science, technology and economy compromised by challengers like China, India and Japan?

In our discussions we will evaluate the interconnections among these events over the passage of time. The course will be presented using PowerPoint slides, video clips, and online information.