Borders are not unusual in Europe. It is also well known that even after borders disappear, plenty
of signs, both material and spiritual, still remain as a testament of their existence. Someone better
attuned to history might still observe today, for example, where Limes, the borders of the Roman
Empire lay. As we considered the causes of the European migraine at the first Nida Forum, we
realized that one of those causes must be the wall for which the building permit was issued at
Yalta and Potsdam in 1945, and which materialized as the physical structure that divided Berlin on
August 11th , 1961.
Until then, the borders of states where primarily intended as protection from strangers. The wall
we have in mind was special, because its purpose was not only to prevent from getting in, but also
(and maybe primarily) from getting out. This wall split Europe into two parts, and life in those
parts forked into entirely different paths. Probably the most prominent instance of those difference
was 1968 – the student riots and Paris, and the Soviet tanks in Prague. Such a difference in the
development of Western Europe compared to Central and Eastern Europe could not and cannot
help but cause different attitudes towards many issues, including the unity of Europe. Therefore
we extend the invitation to discuss that at the second Nida Forum on 13-14th of September, 2019.
We believe it is more important to discuss not the well-known historic facts, but rather focus on
how those facts have affected and still affect our spirit.
September 13th (Friday)
Morning Session
Chair: Antanas Gailius
09.30 am Curonian Spit History Museum (Pamario str. 53, Nida)
Registration, Opening of the Forum
10.00 am Mons. Dr. Florian Schuller (Germany)
Break Lines and Decomposer Germs. Late Night Musings on the Spiritual and Cultural Structure of
Europe
11.30 am Coffee break
11.45 am Prof. Vytautas Ališauskas
Do Flowers Bloom in the Shade of the Wall?
Afternoon Session
Chair: Donatas Puslys
3.00 am Gintaras Grajauskas (Lithuania)
The Abduction of Europa 2.0
4.30 pm Coffee break
4.45 pm Nikodem Szczygɫowski (Poland)
Afterimage of the era of eternity
September 14th (Saturday)
Curonian Spit History Museum (Pamario str. 53, Nida)
Morning Session
Chair: Donatas Puslys
10.00 am Prof. Anthony Glees (UK)
Borders, Walls and Frontiers
11.45 am Visit at Eduardas Jonušas House
Afternoon Session
Chair: Antanas Gailius
3.00 pm Dr. Claudia Sinnig (Germany)
Listening to Lithuania for Better Understanding of Europe (and Germany)
4.30 pm Coffee break
4.45 pm Paulius Gritėnas
The Decline of Europe and the Intellectual Fatigue: Where Will the New Iron Curtain Fall?
8.00 pm Gintaras Grajauskas poetry reading at the Thomas Mann House
Organiser:
Thomas Mann Cultural Center
Partners and sponsors:
Lithuanian Council for Culture
Goethe-Institut Litauen
British Council
Neringa Museums