A Moving Life Story
October 19, 2009

Mindy Weisel at Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site Photo: Nina Gartz click to enlarge

Daughter of Holocaust survivors tells moving story of her life: Artist Mindy Weisel, who was born in Bergen-Belsen as the only daughter of Auschwitz survivors, returned to Germany in October 2009 to introduce German audiences to her works – paintings that span a lifetime and move from darkness to light. Travelling to Dachau, she met with the director of the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, Dr. Gabriele Hammermann, and visited the sites of those unspeakable crimes. She also met with fellow artists from a Dachau artist association who – like Ms. Weisel – courageously deal with their city’s dire past. Finally, Ms. Weisel addressed a group of 60 high school students at Youth Guest House Dachau, an institution committed to raise awareness among Germany’s youth about the country’s National Socialist past. Deutsche Welle television accompanied Ms. Weisel over the entire day for a documentary portraying the deeply moved, but ever optimistic artist.
• Deutsche Welle Video: Painting against sadness

Welcome, Mr. Ambassador!
September 21, 2009

A Bavarian Welcome for Ambassador Philip Murphy Photo: Marcus Schlaf click to enlarge

U.S. Ambassador Philip D. Murphy wowed a packed audience of high school and university students who had traveled from around Bavaria to hear him speak.  The Ambassador discussed US culture, his role in German-American relations, and he encouraged students to exercise their democratic rights by voting.  This event took place during Ambassador Murphy’s visit to Munich, which also included meetings with a wide variety of Bavarian leaders and contacts and a speech at an American Chamber of Commerce business luncheon. The Ambassador promised to be back in Bavaria rather sooner than later. 
• More photos

Bavarians for Baseball
September 11, 2009

Young baseball fans cheer for the  U.S. team Photo: Thomas Schaller click to enlarge

The ballpark was ready, and more than 10,000 Bavarian baseball fans flocked to the Armin-Wolf-Arena in Regensburg to cheer for their favorite teams at the Baseball World Cup 2009.  The highlight was the game between the United States and Germany.  U.S. Consul General Conrad Tribble did not miss the chance to attend the game, where he gave interviews to several media representatives and greeted the U.S. team.  He was amazed to see the overwhelming interest in American baseball by Bavarian spectators and more than impressed that Bavarian exchange students who had attended U.S. schools, cheered for the U.S. team. The World Cultural Heritage city of Regensburg is a stronghold for baseball in Germany.

• Article in the Mittelbayerische:"Regensburg: Baseball Gala vor 9600 Fans"
• videoclip coming soon - stay tuned

Undersecretary Judith McHale(center) and U.S. Consul General Conrad Tribble (left of center, back) with roundtable participants Photo: Renate Zeschitz click to enlarge

Judith McHale, newly appointed Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, traveled with U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke to Pakistan.  During a stopover in Munich, Judith McHale met with students, research fellows, journalists and U.S. exchange programs participants who follow U.S. issues.  In a roundtable discussion, participants mentioned how President Obama’s Cairo speech triggered a much more positive view of the United States, in particular among the diverse communities in Germany.  Judith McHale is convinced that new technology, used effectively and creatively, can be a game changer.  While personal encounters remain very important, the United States must continue to move beyond traditional government-to-government diplomacy and seek innovative ways to communicate and engage directly with foreign publics.  She emphasized that "our fates are all intertwined."

Welcome and Grüß Gott!
August 7, 2009

Consul General Conrad R. Tribble click to enlarge

Conrad R. Tribble, the new U.S. Consul General in Munich, arrived in Munich to assume his duties as the 50th U.S. Consul General on August 7, 2009.
Mr. Tribble spent 1979-80 as a high school exchange student in Niedersachsen, studied at the University of Bonn, and worked as an intern in the Bundestag in 1982. 
From 1992-94 Conrad Tribble was the State Department’s Germany desk officer and was posted to Bonn from 1994-97.  During his first year there he worked as an exchange diplomat in the German Foreign Office’s EU enlargement division, after which he headed the Embassy’s external political affairs section.
From 2008 through mid-2009, Mr. Tribble led an embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team in eastern Baghdad, Iraq.
He speaks German, French, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.
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Having a Ball
July 25, 2009

Teaching blocking techniques Photo: Nina Gartz click to enlarge

An American sports festival at Munich Olympic grounds attracted more than 100 kids ages 8-16 for a day full of fun, football, baseball and basketball.   Experienced coaches from Bavarian-based American sports clubs welcomed  young American sports hopefuls at their respective training stations.  The Public Affairs section of the U.S. Consulate Munich and the Technical University Munich’s (TUM) Sports Center had teamed up to organize the unprecedented event.  The kids enthusiastically picked up skills, and a cheerleading group even volunteered a performance – proud proof of the tremendous progress the girls had made in only one day. T-shirts for all participants enhanced a sense of community among the participants.