Exploring the German Experience of Division and Reunification - Forward Thinking facilitate workshop in Gaza, 20th November 2017

On Monday 20th November, Forward Thinking facilitated a workshop exploring the German experience of division and reunification with intellectuals and academics in the Gaza Strip. Delivered by Marc Frings and Bastian Schroeder from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Palestine, the workshop focused on the German-German separation that followed the Second World War, including the ideological difference between Adenauer’s orientation towards the West and East Germany’s orientation towards Moscow. Of particular relevance in light of recent political developments in Palestine, the workshop also explored the German reunification of 1989-9, the supporting role played by civil society, and how issues such as coming to terms with the past were approached and dealt with.The workshop formed part of Forward Thinking’s ‘Exploring Divisions’ Programme, which aims to inform intellectual and political debate in Gaza through the discussion of international experiences of division, power-sharing, conflict and religion-state relations.