Los Angeles & Berlin - 50 years & A Bright Future

by Gary Toebben

Last week nearly 50 Angelenos spent the 4th of July in Berlin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Los Angeles-Berlin Sister City relationship. The trip was organized by the restructured Sister Cities of Los Angeles organization, under the leadership of Tom Gilmore and Fabiola Vilchez. The relationship began in 1967, 22 years after the end of WWII and the division of Germany and the City of Berlin into quadrants under the oversight of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and the United States. The City of Berlin, deep in the heart of East Germany, was the focal point of the Cold War, the Berlin Air Lift in 1948-49, the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and its opening in 1989.

Our lodging in Berlin was the Adlon Hotel, located in what was formerly East Berlin. The hotel is a block from the Brandenburg Gate and less than a block from the former Berlin Wall. The Brandenburg Gate is where President Raegan gave his famous "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down this Wall" speech in 1987.

As part of the delegation's official agenda aimed at building personal, political and business relationships, German Public Radio conducted an interview with Mayor Eric Garcetti, sponsored by the Aspen Institute. The interview took place at the Rathaus Schoneberg, the site of President John F. Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in 1963, five months before his assassination.

While one can't help being enamored by the history of this city of 3.4 million people, this Sister City visit was about the future. We said thank you for the investments by German-owned companies who employ thousands of people in Southern California and encouraged more companies to join them. We celebrated the investment by AEG in the Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin and a new AEG project that will be similar to L.A. Live. We also highlighted the growing technology sectors and young entrepreneurs who are creating exciting new companies in L.A. and Berlin. A special pleasure for me was to be with Germany's current counsel general to L.A., Hans Jorg Neumann, and his two immediate predecessors, Bernd Fisher and Wolfgang Drautz, both of whom are retired in Berlin.

While I missed celebrating July 4 at home, I was invigorated by the strong friendships that L.A. and Berlin share. I also came home with an increased appreciation for our presidents, and the men and women who served in our military in Europe, Germany and Berlin during WWII and the Cold War.

Freedom is not free and we all have a role to play in its preservation. Freedom is at the heart of the American dream and our system of free enterprise. It is also at the heart of the future of Berlin.

And that's The Business Perspective.