We met our guide in the lobby this morning at 9:30. He was terrific. We sat at a table in the lobby and got a great history lesson before we began walking. We essentially walked along where the wall had been, which is marked by a copper strip in parts and mostly by a double cobble stoned line that runs what seems randomly up and down streets dividing up the city. We stopped to take note of several spots that are all well marked around town and then reached Checkpoint Charlie, which was one of three Checkpoints in the city ABC, C for Charlie. Here West Germans could enter East Berlin but no one was really leaving East Berlin through this gate. Our guide said one of the reasons they opened the border was so that they could collect a heavy tax from people and a way to get money from the west. We stopped and posed with a few men dressed as US Soilders who stood by the old Checkpoint and we could take photos with them. I believe even my mother went through this checkpoint to see East Berlin and I know of several others that had as well. It really is creepy to imagine what it must have been like.
Our guide told us about what it was like after WWII and Eastern Berlin had been given to the Soviets. There was no wall for several years and people went back and forth between East and West sides of Berlin but the West was flourishing and the East was being left behind. Due to the Marshall Plan the USA was putting money into West Berlin to strengthen the economy and it was working. After WWI the Treaty of Versailles destroyed German economy and any hope of real recovery which made them subject to a fanatic charismatic dictator who promised jobs and a bright future and the USA and their allies didn't want Germany to fall into that trap again. As socialist East Berlin saw that their best minds and workers were leaving East Berlin and going west they made a decision and knew they had to act fast and they put in overnight 10,000 troops to line the border along with whatever they could to create an overnight barricade between East and West Berlin. At that moment families and friends were divided and no one was allowed to go into or out of East Berlin. It wasn't until 3 years later that people from the west were allowed to go east, but rarely anyone was allowed to the west.
We walked over to the Memorial that recognizes all Jews that died on the European Continent as a result of the Nazi regime. The memorial has 2711 stones that are all different heights and size. The interpretation of those stones is up to the individual- are they symbols of coffins, people, darkness, when you stand amongst them is it claustrophobic like a Jewish Ghetto that Jews were forced to move into,... ? Below there is a museum which documents the stories of those families that died in the Holocaust, and the evolution of the antisemitism in Germany during the Nazi regime and how that led to Hitler's plan to eliminate Jews not just in Germany but throughout the European continent.
We made our way to the Brandenberg Gate which was originally a toll gate but became a symbol of a victory gate which Hitler used during his regime during propaganda rallies, and a parade was held here when he ascended to power. It also stood alone in no-man's land between East and West Berlin and stood as a symbol of the divide of East and West Berlin and then again as a symbol of unification between the east and west in 1989. It also was the backdrop to Ronald Reagan's famous remark "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall"
We ate lunch at a little cafe near the Brandenburg Gate and then picked up the ebikes at the hotel. We chose to follow the markings on the road- the double cobblestone line that would lead us to the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall which was a few miles away. There the wall was painted with over a hundred different murals on part of the Berlin Wall for about 1.3 km. It began in 1990 when artists gathered and wanted to express their feelings about the wall finally coming down. The wall has had to be renovated a bit since it is covered in graffiti. As we biked through this part of town it honestly felt a bit dodgy. There was graffiti everywhere, all over the buildings. It made me think of being in Athens and how all the buildings had been defaced with graffiti.
On our way to the Berlin Cathedral we made a quick stop at the Van Gogh museum which was alongside the river just before a homeless camp which we went right through which was under a bridge along the river. It was an interesting concept being setup in a warehouse and with images and text being projected on large draped boxes and walls and floors and while listening to classical music in beanbag chairs. It was actually really relaxing and cool. We didn't stay long because we wanted to make the 6 p.m. service at the Berlin Cathedral where the huge and spectacular organ would put on a bit of concert during the service. We arrived with seconds to spare and enjoyed time sitting and listening to music and although we couldn't understand the pastor that spoke in this Protestant church, we were able to recite the Lord's prayer and enjoy the music of the organ.
We tooled around town on the bikes some more and found dinner in a hip outdoor area near the train tracks where we ate in hanging basket chairs. After our dinner we ran into the Berlin Mall and peaked around and then made our way back to our hotel. It was a very interesting day with lots of history and albeit slightly depressing since your mind is on the Wall and on the Holocaust. Just such a wild history in this country and especially in this city. Our guide explained though that his generation grew up asking their parents questions about their involvement in Nazi Germany and their parents views were destroy the past, don't look back but this generation wants to know the past so they won't repeat it again. They have learned from it.
Describes the Blockade which was when East Berlin tried to invade West Berlin and starve them out essentially. Instead the American's coordinated one of the most extensive airdrops for a year into West Berlin- it being an island in the sea of East Berlin.
Outline of the man who tried single handedly to kill Hitler by placing a time bomb in the wall of a place where Hitler was speaking. Hitler ended his speech short that day and so left and when the bomb went off, Hitler was no where near it. This hero was held as one of Hitler's personal prisoners which he along with all of his other prisoners were assassinated before he committed suicide himself. Hitler's crazy thought process, if I die, everyone else should die too.
Site where the brain center of the 3rd Reich was and where Hitler committed suicide with his wife in the barracks below essentially where the small plat of land is.
Holocaust Memorial
Our guide told us about what it was like after WWII and Eastern Berlin had been given to the Soviets. There was no wall for several years and people went back and forth between East and West sides of Berlin but the West was flourishing and the East was being left behind. Due to the Marshall Plan the USA was putting money into West Berlin to strengthen the economy and it was working. After WWI the Treaty of Versailles destroyed German economy and any hope of real recovery which made them subject to a fanatic charismatic dictator who promised jobs and a bright future and the USA and their allies didn't want Germany to fall into that trap again. As socialist East Berlin saw that their best minds and workers were leaving East Berlin and going west they made a decision and knew they had to act fast and they put in overnight 10,000 troops to line the border along with whatever they could to create an overnight barricade between East and West Berlin. At that moment families and friends were divided and no one was allowed to go into or out of East Berlin. It wasn't until 3 years later that people from the west were allowed to go east, but rarely anyone was allowed to the west.
We walked over to the Memorial that recognizes all Jews that died on the European Continent as a result of the Nazi regime. The memorial has 2711 stones that are all different heights and size. The interpretation of those stones is up to the individual- are they symbols of coffins, people, darkness, when you stand amongst them is it claustrophobic like a Jewish Ghetto that Jews were forced to move into,... ? Below there is a museum which documents the stories of those families that died in the Holocaust, and the evolution of the antisemitism in Germany during the Nazi regime and how that led to Hitler's plan to eliminate Jews not just in Germany but throughout the European continent.
We made our way to the Brandenberg Gate which was originally a toll gate but became a symbol of a victory gate which Hitler used during his regime during propaganda rallies, and a parade was held here when he ascended to power. It also stood alone in no-man's land between East and West Berlin and stood as a symbol of the divide of East and West Berlin and then again as a symbol of unification between the east and west in 1989. It also was the backdrop to Ronald Reagan's famous remark "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall"
We ate lunch at a little cafe near the Brandenburg Gate and then picked up the ebikes at the hotel. We chose to follow the markings on the road- the double cobblestone line that would lead us to the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall which was a few miles away. There the wall was painted with over a hundred different murals on part of the Berlin Wall for about 1.3 km. It began in 1990 when artists gathered and wanted to express their feelings about the wall finally coming down. The wall has had to be renovated a bit since it is covered in graffiti. As we biked through this part of town it honestly felt a bit dodgy. There was graffiti everywhere, all over the buildings. It made me think of being in Athens and how all the buildings had been defaced with graffiti.
On our way to the Berlin Cathedral we made a quick stop at the Van Gogh museum which was alongside the river just before a homeless camp which we went right through which was under a bridge along the river. It was an interesting concept being setup in a warehouse and with images and text being projected on large draped boxes and walls and floors and while listening to classical music in beanbag chairs. It was actually really relaxing and cool. We didn't stay long because we wanted to make the 6 p.m. service at the Berlin Cathedral where the huge and spectacular organ would put on a bit of concert during the service. We arrived with seconds to spare and enjoyed time sitting and listening to music and although we couldn't understand the pastor that spoke in this Protestant church, we were able to recite the Lord's prayer and enjoy the music of the organ.
We tooled around town on the bikes some more and found dinner in a hip outdoor area near the train tracks where we ate in hanging basket chairs. After our dinner we ran into the Berlin Mall and peaked around and then made our way back to our hotel. It was a very interesting day with lots of history and albeit slightly depressing since your mind is on the Wall and on the Holocaust. Just such a wild history in this country and especially in this city. Our guide explained though that his generation grew up asking their parents questions about their involvement in Nazi Germany and their parents views were destroy the past, don't look back but this generation wants to know the past so they won't repeat it again. They have learned from it.
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