Online-Event: Teaching NATO – The Development of the Western Alliance and the Role of the American Military in Germany

Identification Number:

22-115

Speaker:

Allison Haskins, M.A.
Michael Weis

Date:

Tuesday, October 11 2022, 6:30 p.m.

Place:

Online via ClickMeeting: Please register here.

Admission:

free

Target Group:

This webinar is for German and American teachers at the secondary level (Year 8 and above) and interested students. 

Partner:

This event is held in cooperation with the Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) of the Goethe Institut and the US Embassy in Berlin.

Description:

On April 4, 1949, the foreign ministers of 12 countries signed the treaty that established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). As a defensive organization, its goal was to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means. Only six years later, in 1955, the Federal Republic of Germany joined NATO and thus clearly became part of the western alliance. The U.S. military presence on the territory of the former enemy provided security and built trust among the population. Today NATO’s significance is highlighted in a renewed commitment among member states in the face of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.This webinar will provide an overview of the history of the American military presence in Germany until today and connect it to broader concepts of international cooperation. It will explore the changing significance of NATO over the decades and address today’s challenges. Experts will discuss a pedagogical approach by combining post World War II history and current politics.

Speakers

Allison Haskins

is currently with the Atlantische Akademie as an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation German Chancellor Fellow. Under the patronage of the program and the mentorship of the Academie, she is researching German-American civil-military relations. She plans to use recent developments in US security policy and the expertise of the Atlantic Academy to conduct research and spark conversation with key constituents in the Rheinland-Pfalz region. Allison received her Bachelors in International Studies from the University of Alabama, and her Masters in European-American studies from Universität Regensburg. She has held internships at the Atlantische Akademie and the European Parliament, and previously worked as International Education Program Coordinator for University of North Carolina Chapel Hill's Center for European Studies.

Michael Weis

Michael Weis is a teacher at the Burg Gymnasium in Kaiserslautern. He is also the coordinator for German-American cooperation under the Welcome to Rheinland-Pfalz (WiR) WiR Schule program.