IRON CURTAIN MEMORIES
Since 2016 the Global Education Program has taken a new generation of Fordham Prep students abroad , in the process enriching their lives through exposure to the kaleidoscope of different countries , peoples , and cultures across the globe .
Such overseas programs , however , are not exactly new to Fordham Prep .
50 years ago this past summer , a large contingent of Prep students from the class of 1971 embarked upon a seven-week summer abroad program spent in France , Spain , West Germany , or the Soviet Union after two years studying the language of those respective countries . For me , as one of the students headed to Germany , it was a life-altering event . Many memories remain , but two of the most vivid revolve around our group ’ s short but profound exposure “ up close and personal ” to the totalitarian state known as the German Democratic Republic , i . e ., East Germany .
Consider it a two-act play .
40 RAMVIEW
By Dominic DiPasquale ’ 71
Act I : July 24 , 1970 Inter-German Border – Marienborn Crossing
At the height of the Cold War , few places were colder than the sinister , heavily fortified border crossings between West and East Germany . NATO to the west , Warsaw Pact to the east … and in the middle that day , the Prep ’ s legendary German teacher Al Mehmel leading our group of 35 Germanspeaking students through the Iron Curtain .
We had put our knowledge of German to excellent use during our just-completed three-week home stays with individual host families near Cologne . Now , reunited as a group for the second half of the program , we traveled that day by charter bus across the north German plains en route to Berlin .
As the kilometers to the Marienborn crossing clicked down , nerves rose in inverse proportion to the distance remaining . Al was clearly worried that , as a group of young Americans who spoke German ( to varying degrees of fluency , it must be admitted ), we might come in for far more scrutiny and suspicion than usual from the Grenztruppen , the East German border guards . With visions of being held up for hours of inspection at the frontier , Al issued his marching orders : “ Don ’ t speak a word of German !”
Now , Al ’ s German was so good that he easily passed as a native of Bavaria , but he , too , obviously couldn ’ t employ his linguistic fluency at the border . Not to worry ; Al had two aces up his sleeve .
The first was a German student our age , Bernd , who had accompanied us from Cologne for the express purpose of serving as our “ translator ” at the border .
The second was Al himself , more specifically , the Al Mehmel Dumb American Tourist Abroad act . Had this been a movie , Al would have won the Oscar for Best Actor , Best Original Screenplay , and Best Costume Design .
He dressed the part perfectly . A loud , really LOUD , plaid sports jacket . A handkerchief tied around his neck . A pack of Marlboros in his shirt pocket . And a wad of gum chewed at supersonic speed . It was , in fact , the consummate stereotype of Americans so beloved by Europeans . And Al played the part perfectly when the border guard boarded the bus to check our passports .
“ What is the man saying , Bernie ?” Al asked our German guide in slightly too loud English . “ Can we go now ?” he managed in between chomping the gum . “ Is everything OK ?” he inquired with melodramatic anxiety crossing his face . It was all we could do not to burst out laughing , especially after the border guard stepped off the bus and Al gave Bernd a verbatim English translation of every last sentence spoken by the East German .
The whole episode was vintage Al Mehmel : a bit unorthodox , a bit eccentric , more than a bit hilarious , but ultimately