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Ambassador's Press Conference

Thursday, January 31st, 2008.

Transcript

Press Attaché Robert Wood:  Welcome everyone, thank you for being here.  Welcome to the press conference to brief you on the U.S. Embassy's return to Pariser Platz.  We're pleased to have with us this morning Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr., who will brief you on the plans for the move to the new Embassy.  Also, I would like to thank Commerzbank for allowing us to use their facility.  I would also like to welcome Annette Thor of the Federation of German-American Clubs, who will speak briefly about the Federation's plans to help us celebrate the move to the new Embassy.  After the remarks, the Ambassador will take questions; if before asking questions you could identify yourself and your news organization, we would greatly appreciate it.  And do look for the microphones.  Mr. Ambassador.

Ambassador Timken:  Thank you very much, Robert.  I, too, would like to extend my thanks to the Commerzbank for hosting us here today, because this gives us a little view of what it might look like looking out the windows of the new Embassy as we go forward, and it's a beautiful site, a beautiful place, and we're certainly happy to be moving towards this location.  I'd also want to thank again Annette (Thor) for being with us and for the part that she and her organizations will play in the events which I will be describing as we go along, and you'll be able to hear from her.

I want to thank you for your interest.  This is a unique story.  There's no other occasion in Europe where the capital of a country has been moved like this and require the United States to build a major facility.  So this is not just another building; this is an important place for us to demonstrate the commitment that we the United States have to the partnership with the nation of Germany and the people and Germany.  We'll describe a little more fully as we go along what that means to us.  But to begin with, most of you are probably aware that on the site next door in 1930 the United States government purchased the palace of the Blücher family - who no longer were interested in it, I guess - and tried to make that into an effective Embassy.  Unfortunately, it burned and there were extensive renovations made to it, and eventually the people of the Embassy staff at that time moved into the refurbished chancery in April of 1939.  Now as you can imagine it wasn't very long that they were there and the significance for us today is that, as a result of decisions made by the United States Government, we are after 69 years returning, in the spring of 2008, to that original site.  And we like to think about this as the closing of a cycle that extended back to the time when we were enemies at war, through the entire process of the reunification, the airlift - of which the 60th anniversary of its commencement is this year - to the state where we are today as global partners, and now we have had what we would call the "people" side of that partnership, but now we will have our facility right here on Pariser Platz.

Some have criticized our existing temporary facilities - they're not amenable to people from outside.  The design of the new Embassy is to be open - as much as we can do it within the requirements of security, which today are different to what they may have been in the past - but it will be open; we will hold some of our public affairs/cultural events in there - we have space to do this.  And it's an exciting thing for the people of the United States Mission.  We have tried to be true to the architecture of Pariser Platz, as the last piece in the puzzle here, and - just as a side-story, because it shows my own emotional involvement - some time in the early 1990s, I was in Berlin to make a speech.  My host took me out on dirt near the Brandenburg Gate - the Brandenburg Gate stood alone, surrounded by nothing, after the Wall had been cleared and all the clearings were made, and my host pointed out to me that Pariser Platz would be rebuilt here in front of the Gate, and that Sony would build a building over there; and you know it had kind of stretched my imagination.  I now realize that I was probably standing about in the middle of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews, looking directly at the Brandenburg Gate, and therefore right through the site of the now to-be-completed American Embassy, for which I have the responsibility.  So it's a strange world, when you think of it in that way, but it shows that history moves in wonderful ways, and we're very pleased to be here.  Everything we've done is working with the City to make sure that we preserve as much public access to Pariser Platz. We will not have the closing of the streets apparently, upon the judgment of the Germans - uh Berlin - but as we've had over in our existing location, and we expect to be part of the scenery here in Berlin.  A famous American architect, Moore Ruble Yudell, was chosen because we knew we had to produce something that all Germans as well as Americans would be proud to have sitting on this valuable corner of German real estate.

We're going to have a lot to do with art in the new Embassy, we have donated to the Embassy a sculpture by Ellsworth Kelly, which is 40-foot high piece of steel that will be erected in the interior courtyard of the new Embassy; and that will be a great moment because they're going to have to lift this big thing over the existing building, as they will do also with a piece of the Wall.  We were very fortunate to be offered a piece of the original Wall with all the graffiti and things that you know so well, and that will be put into the inside courtyard as well.  We have an original Sol LeWitt mural on the inside as well as our other art, and a special tie to Germany is that my wife and I made the decision to commission Meissen to make for us an American eagle, which they have never made before, to put in the rotunda of the new Embassy as a symbol of our cooperation.  By choosing Germany's most venerable porcelain producer to make an American eagle and put it there, we think, is part of this symbol of partnership that we all feel so strongly about.

Now, this is January.  It will be a long series of events surrounding the eventual occupancy and dedication of the new Embassy, and some of them will certainly revolve around the installation of those major cultural art pieces; but the way we're looking at it today, we think we will have on July 4th the normal national day celebration of the United States in Germany and we are going to hold that in Pariser Platz in an expanded fashion as part of the grand opening of the new Embassy.  We will be, in addition, of course working with the City of Berlin on that and the necessary work with our neighbors now here at Pariser Platz to make sure that we have a very successful event; and we do believe that at the time we will have very senior speaking officials from the - certainly the German nation as well as the United States on that July 4th and it will be a great ceremonial thing.  In addition, concurrently, during all this period we will try to run other cultural and seminar affairs which demonstrate the degree of partnership between the American people and the German people.  An organization that produces major events, conferences - the Maleki Group in Frankfurt - is going to put together a major economic symposium, because I can tell you that the economic inter-relationship between the United States and Germany is far greater than anyone understands and we will be putting out some numbers and thoughts about this relationship that will, I think, stimulate everybody's interest.

Then, in addition though, that's within the context of what the Embassy is permitted to do by the Congress of the United States, it's not enough, even though it will be more open than anything you've seen from the Americans since who knows when, but we wanted more and we were very pleased, very pleased when the ideas started to come forth to have a Volksfest in Pariser Platz, again, on July 5th, so that another group of Germans in Berlin and from around the country could take part in a different aspect of our relationship; and this will be targeted more at the younger people and with appropriate entertainment as well, and we're very, very pleased and honored that the German-American Clubs of Germany, which are celebrating their 60th anniversary this year, would undertake the responsibility to work with all the people in Germany who have indicated a great desire to help with this promotion, with this demonstration of friendship, and so that's the reason we have Annette Thor here today and she will say a few words in a minute or two about the Club.

I also point out that the - this is also the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, and there are many historians who believe that the Berlin Airlift was the fundamental key to maintaining the independence of West Germany, I mean West Berlin, within the arms of the Soviets, and therefore the only reason that eventually reunification was possible in the way that we know it today; and therefore the Airlift has its 60th anniversary of its commencement as well this year and is certainly an important part of that historical (inaudible) to this day when we will have and occupy our new Embassy sometime after May 1st this year.

So these are the thoughts. I would now like to ask Frau Thor if she would like to say a few words about the responsibilities that she and her group nationwide have undertaken for July 5th; and I would say that they provide the emphasis we also would like to have; this is not just a Berlin situation, this is, for us this will be a national celebration of this partnership and we expect to involve our facilities, our Consulates General all over Germany and hope that we will be receiving as the Club organization demonstrates the support of people from all over Germany.  So at this time, Annette, if you would like to say a few words...

Annette Thor:  Thank you.  First of all, let me extend my gratitude and thanks to you, Ambassador Timken, to make it possible to attend this conference here and to give a short introduction of the Federation.  The Federation of German-American Clubs is a private organization and at this time our members are more than 30 German-American Clubs all over Germany - so one of course here in Berlin - but it represents all of Germany from Munich and Erfurt and from Hamburg to Kaiserslautern.  The origin, the history of course goes back to the southern part of Germany in 1949, to 1948, in these military years and this is a very interesting story, a very special story, but it would take too much time to speak about this, so I would ask you to read some things in our brochure, which you might have got downstairs; if not, let me know. 

The goal of the Federation, and all of our member clubs of course, is very simple - fostering and enhancing German-American relations and friendships, not only between the military in those times but meanwhile especially within youth.  So 50 years ago, all clubs together founded a student exchange program which still is the largest privately run program in Germany and a youth program - we have youth seminars and student seminars all over Germany and in the States and send every year about 30 German students to the United States with a grant and give a grant to American students of the same size, about 30, in Germany.  At the moment, two students are here in Berlin.

So based on this common history and constitutional goals of course we are highly attracted by this idea of the Embassy to open this new building with an open and free festivity, and we feel very much honored to serve as host for the public event on July 5th; and this is supposed to be for all of our Clubs, for all people who want to take part and to make this a very special historic moment, not only for officials but also for the public.  And the plans are, let me thank as well Lexington Communications, who are responsible for the work on this exciting event, and the plans we have together are to have on the street on the west side of the Brandenburg Gate on the Straße des 17. Juni along until the crossing with Isaac-Rabin-Straße a sort of a free market place with artists and singers and citizens who make offers, their highlights, and as well food, music and regional specialties from all over Germany.  Since we have at least those more than 30 Clubs, there is already a variety, and of course we are speaking with different people who show a huge interest in participating and make this a real celebration. Our goal is to have this excitement open, as open as possible, and to celebrate in the spirit of a German-American friendship at its best.  So, that's the goal.

Ambassador Timken:  Thank you, Frau Thor.  Would you like to introduce the president of your Berlin Club?  I believe she's here today?

Annette Thor:  Alicia Heinrich, she's president of the German-American Women's Club of Berlin and she's present today, yes.

Ambassador Timken:  All right, well, thank you very much.  You can see then that basically we are talking about two events:  one by invitation but very expanded group on July 4th here, which will also include fireworks that obviously everybody will be able see over the Brandeburger Tor, then a Volksfest on July 5th; so these are going to be two enormous events where we will try to bring together as much American cultural activities as is possible, some hopefully on the 4th very prominent speakers from Germany and the United States; on the 5th some very prominent entertainment that would appeal to people in Berlin that want to attend this Volksfest, so it should be party time this summer for us in front of our new Embassy.

At this time we'll open it up for any questions.  If you're going to say them in German, my friend (the interpreter) will translate for me, Annette - obviously doesn't need that - and if it's acceptable I will answer in English.  If anyone has a problem understanding, then please ask for clarification.

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