Jul 18, 2017
Today, the German-American Fulbright Program celebrates its 65th anniversary. The binational Fulbright Commission came into existence when on 18 July 1952, the United States signed the (Fulbright) Executive Agreement with the Federal Republic of Germany. The possibility of creating a German Fulbright Program was first addressed in 1949 shortly after the Federal Republic of Germany had been created. Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and U.S. High Commissioner John J. McCloy soon entered into negotiations. However, since the Federal Republic had not yet attained full sovereignty and because of funding intricacies and legal issues, the establishment of the Educational Commission took its time.
Beginning with the academic year 1953-54, approximately 200 American graduate students, twenty teachers, and a handful of senior scholars arrived in Germany, while a comparable group of German students, teachers, and senior scholars traveled to the United States. Sixty-five year slater, more than 48,000 alumni have enjoyed the benefit of the Fulbright experience. In 2017, once again, some 700 grantees move across the Atlantic.
In the above picture, Fulbright staff celebrated this special moment together with the Executive Director from the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission, Justyna Janiszewska. 65 years of German-American program history honors the stories of so many Transatlantic biographies, the essence of which constitutes the core and meaning of binational exchange.
