Berlin Rhymes

Cover Photo: Ellen posing in front of a “Trabi” or Trabant, an East German vehicle.

Ellen’s Thoughts:

Who Knew! Not at all what I expected! Then I am not sure what I expected.We went on a walking tour and the guide was fantastic! He was 28 years old, doing graduate school in Sociology after deciding law school wasn’t what he wanted.He was also a stand up comic. We saw all the hotspots you are supposed to see in Berlin, but his history lessons and perspectives on Berlin in the past and future were by far the best parts.

I have always had a special interest in WWII. After studying abroad the reconstruction of Europe from the European perspective, at LSE, I realized the Marshall plan was not the only saving grace for Europe. But more interesting, is looking at how a Hitler got to power in the first place. The parallels between the economic situation now, current political leaders, other countries committing genocide,and how common people could and still do turn their heads and look the other way. Fear of difference and change is very powerful! I am most impressed by how in Berlin the museums and tours do not hide the facts of the oppressive tactics, racially prejudiced people and acknowledge the Third Reich era as a dark time that needs to be remembered but not glorified in anyway.The guide was very adept at insisting that the discussion needs to continue and current world trends often reflect lessons from this era for good and evil. Every 15 year old in Germany has to go to a concentration camp. Every museum including The Topography of Terror had school groups visiting! This is education!

Obviously, our visit to Berlin and the concentration camp alongside the recent politics in the US have deeply affected us for days following, thus a Berlin post has been hard to write.

The city itself is architecturally interesting . They had to reuse what buildings were still standing. City planning was definitely thoughtful from time to time in parts but with reunification of east and west it is a bit confusing! A lot of new buildings are made to look like old European buildings and in front of the Brandenburg Gate, where the US Embassy now is I was reminded of the mall in Washington DC. I am glad we came here, but it may be the first place we have been I am not sure I want to go back to.

Amsterdam is next and I get to see Derek after 10 years!😄

From now until August it is all about seeing some of my most favorite people! I am ready!

Steve’s Thoughts:

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”

– Attributed to Mark Twain

As Ellen says above, Berlin was a bit of a surprise to us. We didn’t really know what to expect, and our expectations were met.

Rhymes

I find myself thinking about the parallels between what happened in Berlin, and what is happening around the world. A few points –

Refugees – when the Nazis took away the nationality of Jews, the countries of the world got together to figure out what to do. Britain took some Jewish children. The Dominican Republic took rich Jews. Nobody else took them. In 2015, Germany took 1.2 million refugees. The US has taken about 2100 Syrians so far.
Nationalism/Fascism – across the world intolerance and nationalism is becoming stronger. There are many people who are afraid of what they see happening around them, and a fodder for the fearmongers.
The “Joke” Factor – coming from Minnesota, the state that elected Jesse Ventura, so we know what can happen. When Hitler was first named Chancellor, the former ruling party thought he would really need them, because he had no experience. Within a year he had complete power.

Berlin

Not only is much of Berlin rebuilt after the devastation of WWII, but Berlin is a fairly new player on the world stage in general. It wasn’t until the 13th century that Berlin was first documented. Berlin became the capital of Brandenburg in 1417, the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, the German Empire from 1871–1918), the Weimar Republic from 1919–1933, and the Third Reich from 1933–1945. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world.

Various kings and emperors strove to make Berlin into a great city, with a huge rivalry with Vienna. I don’t think Berlin ever won the beauty contest, but they did pretty well in other areas.

I thought this quote from the “Story of Berlin” museum sums it up pretty well:

Berlin Wall

Small part of the wall that remains.

Checkpoint Charlie – now a tourist attraction

Luftwaffe Building

The Third Reich had big plans for the architecture of Berlin. When the architects said the thousand year empire might be optimistic. The high command then suggested that the buildings should at least make good ruins.

The Luftwaffe building was never bombed, even though the Brits and Americans wanted it. Because it was still standing after the Russians came, they used it. To “de-nazify” it, they removed the swastikas from the wall.

The East Germans put a mural on the wall of how happy life is in socialism. When there was a protest there, the protesters were shot.

Hitler’s Bunker

Hitler’s bunker, or what remains of it, lies under a parking lot. A small sign is the only notice you would know that it was there. They don’t want it to become a shrine.

Hitler’s house went from where I was standing all the way down to the blue green glass building a mile down the road.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

The Berlin Story Museum

Close to our hotel, we went to this museum. One of its features is an actual fallout shelter built in the 1980’s. It was built to hold 3600 people for 2 weeks. After that, everyone needed to leave.