Atlanta International School will hold a ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 11 a.m. to dedicate a section of the Berlin Wall on the school’s campus. Members of Atlanta’s international and civic community, including German Consul General Christoph Sander and Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell will speak. Claire Angelle, International Affairs Director for the City of Atlanta, will also be in attendance. This month marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which divided the city from 1961 to 1989.
The school’s section of the wall is about 10 feet tall by three feet wide. Although its original location cannot be confirmed, it is likely to have been part of a section of the wall that divided the American sector of West Berlin from East Germany, near the town of Kleinmachnow. Head of Primary Camille Du Aime, who joined AIS this fall from the Berlin Brandenburg International School, arranged for the wall’s journey to its new home in Atlanta.
“Die Berliner Mauer is a powerful symbol of the importance of the mission of our school and a reminder of what happens when international mindedness, dialogue, communication and collaboration fail,” said Kevin Glass, headmaster of Atlanta International School. “We are very excited to have this piece of history on campus, particularly given our German language track for ages 3K – Grade 5 and the large number of German speakers and families we have in our community.”
