Volker Langeheine, German Teacher at Millard North High School, is currently organizing a new exhibit, Icons of a Border Installation, that will be displayed in Omaha for several weeks this fall to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago. He is cooperating with UNO’s European Studies Conference, The Durham Museum, the German Goethe Institute and the German Consulate General in Chicago. Omaha will get the exhibit through German government support to promote the study of German.

Icons of a Border Installation will be on display September 26 - October 18 at The Durham Museum. A reception will take place at 10:00 a.m. in the Lecture Hall at the Durham on Saturday, October 3, which is the national German holiday, the Day of German Unity, and only a few days before German-American Day on October 6. Doors will already open at 9:30 a.m. for reception attendees to see the exhibit at no cost. Members of AATG Nebraska and friends of German are cordially invited.

(OMAHA, Neb.) – In partnership with the Goethe-Institute Chicago and the University of Nebraska-Omaha, The Durham Museum is pleased to host the traveling photo exhibition, Icons of a Border Installation. The exhibition documents the search for traces of the Berlin Wall’s lasting impact on the city and its people, through the eyes of students at the University of Paderborn in Germany. Under the direction of the late Professor Barbara Becker and photographer Jürgen Spiler, the students developed the exhibition, which includes framed photomontages with accompanying audio recordings exposing forgotten wall remnants and deserted watchtowers.

Since the wall came down in 1989, the city and citizens of Berlin have changed dramatically. Many locations where the wall or the border strip used to run are now buried under buildings or no longer recognizable. Still the wall lives on, not only in places "reconditioned" for tourism, but also in the self-image of the city, its residents and visitors as an icon of the Cold War, the separation of Germany, and a symbol of the personal destinies and suffering it forever changed.

With a desire to promote the study of German, Mr. Volker Langeheine, a German language teacher at Millard North High School, led the efforts to bring the exhibition to Omaha. "Our hope is that this exhibition will create greater understanding of this important time in history, when the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Iron Curtain," said Langeheine. "The exhibition also provides insight into life and culture of Germany today."

Icons of a Border Installation will be on display September 26 – October 18, 2009 at The Durham Museum.

The Durham Museum, making its home in Omaha’s beautiful art deco Union Station, is home to permanent exhibits that preserve Omaha’s vibrant history, temporary exhibits covering subjects ranging from history and culture, to science and industry, and many entertaining, educational, family-oriented activities. The Durham Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and has strong ties with the Library of Congress, National Archives and the Field Museum. Admission is free for members and children age 2 and under; $7 for adults; $6 for seniors; and $5 for children ages 3-12.

For information about The Durham Museum, please visit the museum’s Web site at www.durhammuseum.org.