Investing in Insurrection: The Arts and Education Infrastructure of West Berlin’s Red Decade

Moderator: Judith Hamera, Lewis Center for the Arts

From campus occupations to urban riots, West Berlin was without a doubt the center of the West German 1968. But what was it about the isolated Cold War city in the late 1960s and early 1970s that made it a locus of political struggle? This talk examines how state investment in education and arts infrastructure, intended to bolster West Berlin against a communist threat, actually helped transform the city into a hotbed for movements against capital and imperialism.

This event is part of the 1968/2018: Cities on the Edge series, co-sponsored with the Humanities Council. Additional support kindly provided by the Princeton Department of German.