Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Where German-German history becomes tangible: various remembrance sites ensure that the past is not forgotten For many people the GDR was consigned to history long ago; the division of Germany now lies over three decades in the past remembrance sites that ensure this period is not forgotten are becoming all the more important The Wall may now be history, but a few pieces are still standing. The longest of them is the world-famous East Side Gallery in the Berlin district of Friedrichshain One hundred and eighteen artists from 21 countries have immortalised themselves in graffiti along the 1.3-kilometre-long section one of the images showing the iconic “fraternal kiss” between GDR Council of State Chair Erich Honecker and the leader of the Soviet Union where the victims of division are regularly remembered While the Wall along Bernauer Strasse tore apart a church congregation and many families and friends, it also ensured that a form of “cross-border traffic” had to be established between the two German states. That was why the Palace of Tears was built in 1962; its official name: Border Checkpoint Berlin-Friedrichstrasse Today this checkpoint building is the site of a moving exhibition pieces of luggage and a control counter that has been preserved in its original state provide an authentic picture of the kind of anguish the division of Germany repeatedly caused innumerable people over decades but it is only an invisible one between two German Länder (states): the west of Mödlareuth is Bavarian while the eastern part belongs to Thuringia but everyone can now cross the narrow Tannbach without any problem A good 250 kilometres to the northwest lay the former Duderstadt-Worbis border crossing, where the division of Germany separated the previously closely linked settlements of Gerblingerode in the West and Teistungen in the East. The Borderland Museum Eichsfeld looks back on life in divided Germany In the Eichsfeld District this was characterised by so-called “small cross-border traffic” which enabled people from the West to at least visit family and friends in the GDR from 1973 Almost six million border crossings were registered in Duderstadt-Worbis between 1973 and 1989: an enormous number that shows how massively division affected people’s lives and relationships The museum site encompasses the border installations including the observation bunker and watchtower in which visitors can still see the control and signal systems of the GDR border guards The brutal response to any attempts to escape is illuminated by the Border Museum Schifflersgrund near Bad Sooden-Allendorf The exhibition here places special emphasis on the fate of those who tried to leave the GDR despite the threat to life that involved Twenty-six people died during escape attempts along the then inner-German border between Hesse and Thuringia alone An equally sad and shocking historical document is the text of the “order to fire” whose existence was always officially denied by the GDR It obliged GDR border soldiers “to annihilate” refugees © www.deutschland.de We use YouTube to embed content that may collect data about your activity Please review the details and accept the service to see this content Thursday, February 26, 2009 2:30 PM EST James W. Miller Auditorium (Western Michigan University) 1903 W. Michigan Ave Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (800) 228-9858 Reception to follow at the Richmond Center for Visual Arts Web Site At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice Western Michigan University 1903 W Michigan Ave Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (269) 387-1000 Web Site Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra 359 S Kalamazoo Mall # 100 Kalamazoo, MI 49007 (269) 349-7759 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts 314 South Park Street Kalamazoo, MI 49007 (269) 349-7775 Web Site Below is the contact information for a florist recommended by the funeral home Ambati 1830 S. Westnedge Kalamazoo, MI 49008 (269) 349-4961 Driving Directions Web Site Diether Hans Haenicke’s life was distinguished by his perseverance A German immigrant from the “old school” of academia Diether amazingly mixed his erudite credentials with an open and young curiosity that led him to be an advocate for the students he taught and mentored and a leader to the colleagues he worked alongside Diether was the sixth of eight children born to Erwin and Helene Haenicke He was raised and grew up near the Werra river in Witzenhausen a small town which bordered communist East Germany until the German reunification It was here that Diether faced as a child the grim realities of fascism and the second world war While the evils of Nazism pervaded the nation and reached into his idyllic small town his intellectual parents had similar interests His father would often play portions of records for Diether and his siblings and its movement before dinner would be served and poverty and despair loomed over Germany Diether continued to immerse himself in his studies Having attended the Volksschule (primary school) and the Mittelschule (secondary school) Diether loved school and would often tell his children that he looked forward to classes Following the completion of his required courses Diether entered his higher education studies at the Universities of Goettingen and history and went on to earn his Doctorate from the University of Munich where he graduated magna cum laude in 1962 It was in that year that Diether married a young American student named Carol Colditz and with whom he spent his very last moments Their life together was spent in universities who enjoyed and benefited from the experience of being raised in a household that was anything but all-American and was deeply patriotic towards the country he considered to be the greatest in the world Diether was known for his arguments with Europeans who derided America It was never a good idea to tell him that his adopted country “had no culture.” academia began in earnest when he accepted a position teaching German language and literature at Wayne State University’s Junior Year in Munich program Although he had always imagined that he would spend his life as a professor it soon became evident that Diether had both the acumen and desire to move into higher education administration he became Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Wayne State University He then went on to the position of Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs in 1975 he made a move away from the urban university that had been his training ground the largest land grant university in the nation There he became Dean of Humanities and Professor of German Within a few years he was appointed Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Poised to move on to a major university presidency Diether became interested in a job opening in Kalamazoo Many colleagues advised him to look elsewhere but Diether clearly fell in love with Western Michigan University from his first visit there that he “could get his hands around.” Diether accepted the position of WMU president in 1985 and spent the rest of his career there despite offers and inquiries from some of the nation’s biggest and most famous institutions Diether adopted WMU much in the fashion he had adopted America—with fierce pride and loyalty he fought to bring his university to a higher level of prominence in areas such as research Upon his retirement from the presidency in 1998 he was credited by many as transforming the university Diether returned to the faculty and taught for several years It was during this time that he was able to enjoy his “first love” of teaching students He also began to write a popular weekly column in the Kalamazoo Gazette but always missed his days leading his beloved institution Diether was asked again to step in to lead the university during a critical time Students were dissatisfied and Diether was needed to revive the university while a new Diether came back as though he had never left as one colleague put it “a guardian angel,” who preserved the university till Dr and gave everyone with a vested interest in WMU renewed confidence Diether knew the university was in good hands again He survived war and a totalitarian government and he had a terrible and long battle with heart disease Doctors were often astounded at his uncanny ability to recover and survive But a head injury incurred during cardiac arrest in December ultimately proved too much for him to overcome there is great relief in knowing that Diether will never again have to endure pain Services will be held at 2:30 PM on Thursday 2009 at Miller Auditorium followed by a reception at the Richmond Center for Visual Arts Diether was preceded in death by his parents; four siblings: Gerhard Haenicke Carol Haenicke; two children: Jennifer (Chris) Haenicke of Kalamazoo and Kurt (Stephenie) Haenicke of Lisle all of Germany; and many nieces and nephews Please visit Diether’s personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can read his Life Story and sign his online guest book before coming to his services Memorial contributions may be made to Western Michigan University JavaScript is disabled. 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