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Join author Bryan Van Sweringen as he leads a discussion on his book, "HistoriCity" or "Fragments of Berlin."
Learn about the history and culture of Berlin in the 1980s as local author Bryan Van Sweringen discusses his book, “HistoriCity or Fragments of Berlin.”
Synopsis: Written in the style of the German Bildungsroman, “HistoriCity or Fragments of Berlin” recreates the vibrant cultural and political ferment in and surrounding West Berlin in the early 1980s. Intrigued by references to Berlin in secret documents found in the National Archives, journeyman archivist Thomas Vonaechron decides to leave Washington, DC for West Berlin to immerse himself (and the reader) in the city's multi-layered history. Once on-site, he is drawn out of the past into the present, where he joins a crew of students, professors, artists, punks, soldiers, and monks, as he searches for the city, and finds himself among the ruins. Friendship and unexpected opportunity allow Thomas to participate in events leading up to the "Fall of the Wall" and the reunification of the divided city. Love manifests itself as a potential way out of history.
While focused on the past, “HistoriCity” raises questions about the future, and "The End of History." Witty and thought-provoking, “HistoriCity” is an engaging examination of the meaning and uses of history against the background of Berlin, Capital of the 20th Century.
A native and current resident of Cuyahoga Falls, Bryan Van Sweringen divided his 30-year Civil Service career equally between Washington, D.C. and the Federal Republic of Germany. Trained as a Political Scientist in both the United States and Germany, he served as an Archivist, Military Historian, and US Forces Liaison Officer and, following his retirement, as an Associate Lecturer in History, Literature, and Political Science at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies of the Free University of Berlin. He has published and lectured on Political Cabaret and Psychological Warfare during the Cold War, and postwar US Force Structure and Basing in Europe. He has made numerous guest appearances on American Forces Network and German Radio and television, and recently completed a screenplay for a feature film about the tragic killing of seven American airmen on the German Island of Borkum during the Second World War. He is currently working on an American family saga.
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