Today's exploration of the capital city began with a mini American reunion with BBA grad Trevor Biggs who is studying in Berlin this semester. We met at Potsdamerplatz. With 6 major avenues intersecting here Potsdamerplatz is in the center of unified Berlin but during the era of divided Germany it was a dead end wasteland. Prior to WWII it had been one of the busiest commercial centers of Europe. At that time, so many police officers were hit by cars while directing traffic that they built a special
tower for them to stand in. As with much of Berlin, the buildings around Potsdamerplatz had been bombed to smithereens. With the East/West border running through the square, traffic was dramatically reduced and the centers for commerce moved elsewhere. In 1991 this was the largest building lot in all of Europe. Today, a few pieces of the wall remain standing, there is a line running through the plaza showing the former location of the rest of the wall, and the plaza is bustling with action. There are a number of large office centers; Daimler, Sony, and DB are among the more noticeable. During November and December there is a bustling Christmas Market. The boys took turns riding an artificial tubing park. The ice rink was not quite ready or I'm sure they would have been there as well.
We left busy Potsdamerplatz and headed to a very quiet memorial just 2 blocks away. Here we found one of four remaining guard towers from the DDR. This tower was renovated and is maintained today by three friends who felt too much of Germany's history was being forgotten. They take turns manning the site and providing information to tourists. With moist eyes, today's docent commented on his avocation, telling us that Germany must continue to directly confront its past.
After climbing to the top of the guard tower, we headed on to another place where Germans confront their historical failings, The Topography of Terrors. This memorial is located on the ruins of the former SS and Gestapo headquarters. During the Nazi era this was a building feared by all. Here enhanced interrogation techniques were considered standard. Many of the citizens who were brought in were sent to concentration camps. Others just disappeared. Like other buildings in Berlin, this building had been uninhabitable after the Allied bombing. The rest of the building had been torn down and because of its location in the shadow of the Berlin Wall the empty lot was seen as relatively worthless. In 1987 a group of Berliners unearthed the foundation and set up a temporary information site. Feeling that too much of the German consciousness was focused on victims of the Nazis and not enough thought was focused on the actions of those who perpetrated this violence, this group set out to reveal those actions through documents. Using photos as well as copies of actual documents this exhibit informs the public of the methods Nazis used to gain and hold power. Though much of this story is also told elsewhere, touching history through the documents provides a unique perspective. Being a part of this on the very site where so much of the planning and execution actually occurred made the history all that much more real. Another compelling feature of this exhibit is that the current building is set back from the street so that the exposed foundation of the Gestapo headquarters is visible from the road. The foundation is well signed and forms the basis of the exhibit inside. When Barb and I visited in 95. Most of the exhibit was out doors and it included several interrogation and jail cells. Those have since been filled in with sand to protect them from the elements until the directors of the exhibit can determine how to show them and preserve them at the same time.
From there we went on to the Kaufhaus des Westen or KaDeWe. This department store covers an entire city block. It's seven floors contain everything a shopper could need. Every purveyor of fine goods seems to have a spot on the ground floor; Hermes, Cartier, etc. The store was unbelievably busy and we enjoyed watching people go about their shopping even more than we enjoyed looking at the wide selection of goods and gasping at the price tags.
As we headed back to the U-bahn station we noticed another of the German attempts to deal with their past. It listed the names of 12 concentration camps that had once been the destination of trains leaving this station along with the words that we must never forget the places where terrible things happened. So much of this city is marked by the tragic events of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic. It seems difficult for the Berliners to strike a balance between remembering the past and creating a city for the future. It doesn't seem there is any agreement as to where that balance should be. I admire the Germans willingness to deal with this so publicly as the historical atrocities of the United States are so often hidden away. Much of Berlin remains under cranes and behind scaffolds. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for this city.
We left busy Potsdamerplatz and headed to a very quiet memorial just 2 blocks away. Here we found one of four remaining guard towers from the DDR. This tower was renovated and is maintained today by three friends who felt too much of Germany's history was being forgotten. They take turns manning the site and providing information to tourists. With moist eyes, today's docent commented on his avocation, telling us that Germany must continue to directly confront its past.
After climbing to the top of the guard tower, we headed on to another place where Germans confront their historical failings, The Topography of Terrors. This memorial is located on the ruins of the former SS and Gestapo headquarters. During the Nazi era this was a building feared by all. Here enhanced interrogation techniques were considered standard. Many of the citizens who were brought in were sent to concentration camps. Others just disappeared. Like other buildings in Berlin, this building had been uninhabitable after the Allied bombing. The rest of the building had been torn down and because of its location in the shadow of the Berlin Wall the empty lot was seen as relatively worthless. In 1987 a group of Berliners unearthed the foundation and set up a temporary information site. Feeling that too much of the German consciousness was focused on victims of the Nazis and not enough thought was focused on the actions of those who perpetrated this violence, this group set out to reveal those actions through documents. Using photos as well as copies of actual documents this exhibit informs the public of the methods Nazis used to gain and hold power. Though much of this story is also told elsewhere, touching history through the documents provides a unique perspective. Being a part of this on the very site where so much of the planning and execution actually occurred made the history all that much more real. Another compelling feature of this exhibit is that the current building is set back from the street so that the exposed foundation of the Gestapo headquarters is visible from the road. The foundation is well signed and forms the basis of the exhibit inside. When Barb and I visited in 95. Most of the exhibit was out doors and it included several interrogation and jail cells. Those have since been filled in with sand to protect them from the elements until the directors of the exhibit can determine how to show them and preserve them at the same time.
From there we went on to the Kaufhaus des Westen or KaDeWe. This department store covers an entire city block. It's seven floors contain everything a shopper could need. Every purveyor of fine goods seems to have a spot on the ground floor; Hermes, Cartier, etc. The store was unbelievably busy and we enjoyed watching people go about their shopping even more than we enjoyed looking at the wide selection of goods and gasping at the price tags.
As we headed back to the U-bahn station we noticed another of the German attempts to deal with their past. It listed the names of 12 concentration camps that had once been the destination of trains leaving this station along with the words that we must never forget the places where terrible things happened. So much of this city is marked by the tragic events of Nazi Germany and the German Democratic Republic. It seems difficult for the Berliners to strike a balance between remembering the past and creating a city for the future. It doesn't seem there is any agreement as to where that balance should be. I admire the Germans willingness to deal with this so publicly as the historical atrocities of the United States are so often hidden away. Much of Berlin remains under cranes and behind scaffolds. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for this city.
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