The Quirky Side of Berlin
While wandering the streets of Berlin for four days, I discovered and experienced some rather quirky things.
I think this tops the list. The bizarre story behind this five-floor phallus results from a nasty, several decades-long rivalry between two newspapers. It adorns the headquarters of Die Tageszeitung and depicts the editor of a competitive paper with diametrically opposing viewpoints. The rumour he had a penis enlargement in the USA is widely accepted as true. Another detail that makes this such an interesting story is that the target can view his enormous penis every time he looks out his office window. Many morals to this story, but top of list should be do not piss off anyone who has ability to illustrate the size of your penis to the world, whether it be huge or teeny, weeny.
Love is Precious
Beside Tiergarten Park is a memorial that remembers gays who were victimized under the Nazi regime. It has no inscription. Instead, through a small window, you watch a film of a same-sex couple kissing. The message is poignant. Black or white. Gay or straight. Olde or young. Love is precious.
A Sobering Note
Berlin is a place of extraordinary comeback. The city has emerged from its ignoble past as the capital of Nazi Germany to become a world-class of museums, art galleries, music venues and beautiful public parks.
Places of Remembrance are everywhere. The monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe is emotionally and physically powerful. Thousands of grey gravestone pillars ask you to reflect on an inhumane chapter in our history. It is potent and conveys much.
Throughout Berlin’s residential areas are small bronze plaques called “stumbling blocks” which commemorate those persecuted by the Nazis. The name of a person is on each stone. The inscription ends with the name and place of where that person died (usually a concentration camp). Thousands and thousands of these stumbling blocks are installed around Berlin.
One of Berlin’s most iconic buildings, the Bundestag, was burned, bombed, rebuilt and finally turned into the home of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag. It is capped with a glorious dome of glass filled with mirrors which reflect natural light, and provides fabulous 360-degree views of this beautiful city. It took me many attempts to secure a tour, but I persevered and ultimately secured a reservation. It was worth the effort.
It was here in 1918 that the German Republic was proclaimed. It was here in 1933 that it was nearly destroyed by fire. The Nazis blamed a communist plot but many believe that Hitler himself planned the fire and used it as an excuse to frame and ultimately imprison communists in his grab for power. Some of the last fighting of WW II occurred on its roof. The dome symbolizes transparency and openness of the government. It is an admission, an apology and a powerful symbol to German citizens of unity.
Some interior walls are pockmarked by bullet holes and covered by graffiti left by Russian soldiers after they took the Reichstag on April 30, 1945. The graffiti has been meticulously preserved. No other place seems to deal with its past quite the way that Berlin does.
Check Point Charlie
I remember J.F. Kennedy’s speech as a child, but did not understand it and I certainly did not appreciate then how perilous a moment it marked during the cold war. I stood at the spot where that speech was delivered. I am not embarrassed to admit that I wept as I read:
Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum [“I am a Roman citizen”].
Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is “Ich bin ein Berliner!” …
All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man,
I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner!”
I touched the remains of the Berlin Wall. I walked under the Brandenburg Gate (commissioned as a sign of peace by King Frederick William II).
Museum Island
Museum Island is home to five important museums. Only two are open on Mondays, but both are incredible. The Neues Museum is home to the Egyptian bust of Nefertiti. Photographs are allowed everywhere except the chamber where she is.
Again, I purchased postcards and took photographs of the cards. Quite simply, she is spectacular.
The Pergamonmuseum is fascinating. It houses three collections – Classical Antiquities, Ancient Near East and Museum of Islamic Art.
Like all European cities, Berlin has its share of iconic buildings, statues of kings and copper horses.
But it also has monuments that move you and make you feel things important. The horror and hollowness of the empty bookshelves below the Book Burning Square speak volumes. The builder of this great square, Frederick the Great, had it built as a place of culture and enlightenment. Hitler deliberately chose this spot to extinguish Berliner’s thoughts of tolerance and acceptance. None of the photographs I took captured the poignancy and power of this place. 20,000 books were fed into the flames. Precious books by Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Ernest Hemingway, Helen Keller, Jack London, Thomas Mann, Karl Marx, Marcel Proust and H.G. Wells. Berliners have a way of making you think hard about hard things.
A plaque now displays the words of a German poet who wrote prophetically a century earlier:
That was only a prelude, there where they burn books,
they burn in the end people.
Heinrich Heine 1820
Berlin has taught me much about history. Berlin showed me that I can shed a few tears while standing in front of an evocative monument. My visit here has been a compelling and inspirational reminder to never forget.
In reading this Berlin blog one last time before clicking the publish button, I realize I have over-used the word ‘powerful’, but I can think of no other word to describe how Berlin remembers the terrible conflict that led to the deaths of 16 million people, and how Berlin honours those dead. Powerful remembrances, powerfully presented.
Happy Thanksgiving to my beloved Canadian family and friends. I will see you soon.
aceaustin 