Konversationsabend: A Retrospective View on the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
Wed. Feb. 14, 2024 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm
As a native of Saxony who came to the US as a young adult with a business degree and treaty trader visa in his pocket, Hardy von Auenmueller worked for 25 years in the chemical industry and then pursued a career in mergers and acquisitions, until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.
This prompted him to fly to Berlin, traveling from there by train to the Leipzig, Saxony area, where he was born and experienced WWII.
The closer he came to his old homestead, the more he could a smell and taste sulfur on his tongue, which – as it turned out – emanated from the largest brown coal fired utility plant, which had been built on the land, that had been expropriated by the Russians in 1945.
For ten years, he commuted across the Atlantic – on a monthly basis – to help clean-up that mess, and subsequently connected with his Rostock shipbuilding friends, for whom he still works, as the local yokel, here in Philadelphia.
This prompted him to fly to Berlin, traveling from there by train to the Leipzig, Saxony area, where he was born and experienced WWII.
The closer he came to his old homestead, the more he could a smell and taste sulfur on his tongue, which – as it turned out – emanated from the largest brown coal fired utility plant, which had been built on the land, that had been expropriated by the Russians in 1945.
For ten years, he commuted across the Atlantic – on a monthly basis – to help clean-up that mess, and subsequently connected with his Rostock shipbuilding friends, for whom he still works, as the local yokel, here in Philadelphia.