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The end hardly came unexpected: Long before the events of 9/11, Amerika Haus Berlin had begun to close its doors to the general public, reducing its on-site cultural programming to a bare minimum. In recent years, the landmarked structure near Zoo Station has looked much more like a fortress than a center of transatlantic exchange. Right now, it is merely an empty shell: The US Embassy has canceled their lease for the Amerika Haus as from September 30, 2006, thereby returning the property to the city of Berlin by the end of next week. The senate of Berlin is considering selling the building, and a commercial use cannot be ruled out at this point. So are we going to see some fast food venue or insurance business move into what is arguably Berlin’s most important symbol of transatlantic understanding? Having worked in the house for a number of years, I sincerely hope the story can still take a different turn. At a point in time when German-American relations have come under considerable constraint, Amerika Haus should continue, or rather renew, its historical role as a place of critical dialogue, embracing all parts of the population.

A look back in time: In the years following WWII, the Amerika Häuser, run by the now defunct United States Information Service, served a variety of purposes. As libraries and reading rooms, concert halls, galleries, film- and stage theaters, lecture halls, reference centers, etc., they were intended to expose the defeated Germans to American culture, traditions, policies - that is, to the American Way of Life. This new instrument of foreign policy went by the name of “public diplomacy,” and the main reason why it worked so well was precisely because the houses were anything but propaganda outlets of the US government. Instead, they sought to engage German citizens in an open dialogue about all aspects of American culture and society. As late as in 1995, for example, shortly after I moved to Berlin to study, I went to the Amerika Haus to attend a concert by leftist singer and activist Bucky Halker, who performed “Songs of Work and Protest.” A few months later that same year, I heard Native American novelist and poet Leslie Marmon Silko read from her novel Almanac of the Dead, a massive volume that comes close to advocating violent revolution for the indigenous peoples of North, Central, and South America.

A couple of years later, when I started to work at Amerika Haus Berlin myself as an overseas educational adviser, the once superb cultural programming had already died down considerably as a result of dramatic cuts in federal funding, with US public diplomacy shifting its focus to the transitional societies of Central and Eastern Europe. After several bombings of US embassy buildings and, of course, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, subsequent security measures made the house increasingly inaccessible to the public. Newly erected barricades and police officers parading their firearms discouraged many students from visiting our educational advising center. Those that did come to see us had to register 24 hours in advance, only to be turned away by the guards in certain cases. It was disheartening to see the wonderful downstairs library with its brand new computer equipment almost always empty.

To be sure, the US Embassy’s public affairs section, which used to be housed in the Amerika Haus and is now to be integrated into the new embassy building at Pariser Platz, continued many of their programs and will certainly remain active in the future. Most programs and events, however, are targeted at selected audiences, and attention is by personal invitation only. While other countries such as the UK and Spain have recently invested huge sums of money to expand their prestigious cultural institutions British Council and Instituto Cervantes at Hackescher Markt in the heart of Berlin-Mitte, the United States will no longer provide a central place to promote mutual understanding between Berliners and Americans.

But wait. Back in April, several representatives of Berlin-based transatlantic institutions met to discuss ways of rescuing the Amerika Haus as a cultural center for dialogue. Following this first meeting, a planning committee was founded that includes, among others, the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation, BridgeBuildersBerlin, the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS), and the institute for cultural diplomacy, a Berlin- and New York-based NGO focusing on fostering intercultural dialogue and exchange, which has agreed to serve as the coordinating institution. The core idea of the proposal now presented is to transfer German-American exchange from the governmental level to the civil society level, making Amerika Haus Berlin a forum for civil society groups with a transatlantic focus to collaborate. The building could not only be used to create office space for non-profit clubs, NGOs, and foundations but also provide create space for lectures, roundtables, performances, etc. for the greater community. In other words, the proposal aims to strengthen existing transatlantic networks in Berlin by streamlining resources. “In recognizing that civil society is deeply heterogeneous,” it says in the proposal, “Amerika Haus Berlin would be a departure point around which civil society can gather, united by historical precedent and the hopes of a greater future in transatlantic relations.”

The plan is to be implemented quickly. The planning committee envisions the new Amerika Haus to be up and running by spring 2007, and the search for potential grant-making foundations and member organizations is already underway. I keep my fingers crossed for a successful campaign, believing that remodeling the Amerika Haus into a non-governmental institution could very well revitalize the center and broaden its reach. First, it would once again become physically accessible since all the security barriers could finally be torn down. Second, it would be freed from the stigma of governmental affiliation, which tends to trigger mostly aversion and distrust among many Germans these days. Moreover, the committee’s proposal goes even one step further by seeking a truly transatlantic collaboration, incorporating Canada and someday even the Americas of the southern hemisphere. What would have formerly reeked of neo-Monroe doctrine now promises to emit the sweet smell of postcolonialism. At the moment, however, there is only the familiar stench at Zoo Station …

Submitted to the Carnival of German-American relations.

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As far as the most recent statistics are concerned, German-American relations in the realm of educational and cultural exchange continue to be in good shape. The number of German students enrolled for a semester or more at US colleges and universities only decreased slightly over the past couple of years, while the number of students spending a year at an American high school has almost reached its high pre-9/11 level again. Furthermore, policy makers and education experts look at universities in the United States for inspiration and guidance in reforming German higher education. In reverse, the figures look just as rosy: Never before did more US students study abroad at German universities than in the academic year 2004/2005.

At the same time, however, we have definitely seen times when it was easier to convince young Germans of the benefits of an educational trip across the Atlantic. As positive as the above numbers may sound, it would be disingenuous to deny that public and private criticism of the United States – mischievous minds may prefer to label it anti-Americanism right away – has once again reached historically high levels ever since the Iraq War, especially among high school and university students. Hostile feelings towards America are picked up and nourished by the media: According to blogs such as David Medienkritik, which comments on the German media’s coverage of the United States from a conservative point of view, the German public is subjected to an almost systematic anti-American misinformation campaign highlighting time and again the same cherished stereotypes and prejudices about the US without which most Germans supposedly cannot exist. While some of David’s claims sound exaggerated and equally one-sided to me, the two guys definitely have a point there.

To be sure, anti-Americanism – understood correctly as nothing less than wholesale rejection of all things American – is not a new phenomenon. In most cases, it is put forward by people who have never been to the United States and do not even consider such personal exposure necessary for being able to see through it all. Countering such forms of prejudice is surely one of the foremost objectives of international educational and cultural exchange, as envisioned by Senator Fulbright, for example. Spending a substantial amount of time in a foreign country, building new social relationships, and immersing oneself in the local culture will cause almost anybody to modify their own standards and opinions and help them see the world through others’ eyes. At least that’s how the theory goes. One should suspect, then, that people actively engaging in transatlantic educational exchange should be entertaining more nuanced views on US politics, culture, and society than what is often spread by the media.

I recently learned that this doesn’t always have to be the case when I sat down for a conversation with Erica and Dave, two American NYU students currently on exchange in Germany on the Duke in Berlin study abroad program. For the duration of this one-semester program, all students live with local host families. Both Erica and Dave emphasized that they enjoy their time in Berlin and described their relationships to their host families as very close and heartfelt on the personal level. However, those very same relationships are somewhat strained by the fact that their host parents seem to be full of prejudice concerning the United States, which they refuse to modify even in the presence of flesh-and-blood Americans living under the same roof with them. I admit I find this rather disturbing.

Erica’s host mum, for example, even lived in Louisiana for a while and now works as a counselor for migrant families from Eastern Europe, so you would expect a considerable degree of intercultural awareness there. Quite on the contrary, she keeps dropping condescending remarks on the US on an almost daily basis. In her understanding, for instance, all Americans are wealthy, and especially those studying at a costly school such as NYU. Never mind that Erica had to take out a multi-thousand dollar loan from the federal government to finance her studies. Furthermore, all Americans are automatically deeply religious and sympathetic to the misteachings of creationalism. Once after Erica had finished a phone conversation with a friend back home, her host mum frankly let her know that American English sounded simply “barbaric.” Sometimes she leaves a US-related article from a German newspaper on the table for Erica to read so she may finally be enlightened about her home country’s true nature. Quite understandably, the young woman is somewhat at a loss to deal with this sort of behavior, since being impolite to her hosts is out of the question for her. Sometimes a humorous reply will do the job.

Dave has had very similar experiences with his own host family: “I have to feel guilty every day for being American,” he says. “Every day there is something new we’ve done wrong.” His host dad, who is both a lawyer and an artist, has subscribed to the leftist daily tageszeitung (taz). “I see front-page articles on Bush, Rice, or Schwarzenegger all the time. Makes you wonder whether Germans don’t have other any worries besides their obsession with the United States.”

Now, the fact that conservative bloggers and other Bush supporters feel offended by the one-sided and mostly negative reporting on the administration’s policies in the German media should not surprise anybody. Erica and Dave, however, consider themselves liberals and do agree with much of the legitimate criticism brought forth in German newspapers on topics such as Iraq, Guantanamo, or the death penalty, for example. This doesn’t keep them from being made to feel they constantly have to defend themselves when spending time with their host families and fellow students. Defend themselves simply for being American. “This is a new experience for me,” explains Erica, who also speaks some French and Spanish and has already worked in Cuba as well. Even though the socialist island is officially a stronghold of anti-Americanism, she can recall only warm and positive responses from the Cubans she met. “But in a way, I am also grateful for the prejudice I experience here“, she adds. “After finishing my studies, I plan to work as a teacher in a minority school. As a result of my time in Germany, I think I can understand a little bit better how it must feel to be faced with stereotyping and discrimination every day.” Just to be sure, both Erica and Dave emphasize they are determined to return to Germany at some point for additional studies or work.

At the end of our conversation, I want to know whether the other students in the program have had similar experiences. “No,” says Erica, “I think we are pretty much an exception.” While this is reassuring and provides some counterbalance to the claim that anti-Americanism is more rampant than ever in Germany, the story remains a mystery to me. How is it possible to welcome people of a different culture in your homes and still continue to cling to cherished stereotypes, especially if these people are so unlike any cliché representative of their culture? In spite of such striking counter-examples, however, I firmly believe that the answer to an increasing transatlantic alienation can only be education, exchange, and dialogue. In this respect, the numbers mentioned above indicate we continue to move into the right direction.

Despite their sometimes serious reservations regarding current US foreign or environmental policies, German politicians and higher education professionals of all stripes have for years been enviously looking at the accomplishments of American higher education. US colleges and universities continue to attract the world’s best scholars and researchers to their campuses, including more than 6,000 from Germany. Weary from decades of brain drain, policymakers have recently implemented a number of major higher education reforms to increase the country’s international competitiveness when it comes to producing and keeping potential Nobel Prize winners. Most of these reforms such as the introduction of a two-tiered system of undergraduate and graduate education or the creation of junior professorships are inspired by the Anglo-American model, which is widely hailed as the pathway to success.

For a long time, the objects of envy and desire in most policy papers and editorials were prestigious US private institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or the MIT. It is only recently that commentators and employers have abandoned their dream of a German Harvard in favor of the University of California system as a far more feasible model for higher education reform in Germany. This shift in the discussion no doubt marks a move into the right direction. Unlike the private Ivy League schools with their multi-million dollar endowments, public institutions in California are faced with challenges closely resembling those of their German counterparts: e.g. constitutional requirements to accept every in-state high school graduate, major cutbacks in public funding, or similar size with a number of huge campuses serving more than 30,000 students.

In spite of these challenges, however, California has managed to establish and maintain a public university system that is both socially inclusive and academically outstanding, with UCLA, UC Irvine, and above all UC Berkeley ranking among the top schools in the US and worldwide. The key to success is the spirit of individual freedom and competition that characterizes the entire system. For example, students constantly evaluate their professors who can not afford to let the quality of their teaching suffer from too much research. Neither do they receive a life-long guaranteed salary or other standard privileges their German colleagues routinely enjoy. Both students and professors do benefit, however, from more institutional autonomy, long-term career perspectives, flat hierarchies, and less inflexible and distracting bureaucracy.

So what’s the lesson? Traditional German higher education, to be sure, is not nearly as inefficient as some people say it is. After all, US institutions gladly accept German graduates into their doctoral programs because they are often extraordinarily well-qualified. Hence there is no need to reproduce every aspect of the California model, not least because it relies heavily on the willingness of the private sector to contribute large amounts of money to keep up the high standards at Berkeley and elsewhere. German corporations and foundations, on the contrary, are still comparatively reluctant to provide funds for research and scholarships, which will be badly needed as soon as more and more German universities begin to charge tuition.

But a healthy dose of that Californian spirit of flexibility and personal freedom may help to unleash the enormous potential that is too often stifled under the present rigid arrangements. Whether the upcoming government-sponsored competition for millions of euros worth of extra funding in an effort to create a small number of outstanding elite institutions and “clusters of excellence” to match up with the likes of Harvard and Yale will work toward that goal remains doubtful at best. As German Japanologist Klaus Antoni has noted, the initiative is rather another manifestation of the bizarre belief that path breaking science and research may be planned and programmed from top down.

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