A Major Dose of Nazis and Commies

Pushing on to Prague

I'm telling you EVERYWHERE we went this trip we were tripping over Nazi and Communist history.  Which is a bleak history and certainly does not portray the best aspects of humanity.  This mid-section of our trip was particularly rife with man's inhumanity to man although from time to time an encouraging site was encountered.  But first, let's talk about the heat . Again.  It was SO hot in Prague that we couldn't leave our hotel room.  We finally summoned the energy to go out to dinner, and probably would have ditched even that except it was at our favorite restaurant in the world so heat be damned.  I had whined all afternoon because I had my heart set on visiting two sites that we had missed last time in Prague. To silence me, Michael promised we would get up early in the morning and visit them before leaving for Berlin.  I was appeased.

Bright and early we set off for Lennon's wall.  I mean it was really early.  We arrived to find we had been beaten to the site by a hoard of Japanese tourists taking endless selfies -- honestly they do NOT sleep. So, here is a heart-warming story.  While under Communist rule, young people started writing graffiti (much of it Lennon lyrics -- i.e. Imagine) on this long wall.  Everyday, the Communists would come and paint it over.  And every night, the young people would paint the wall again.  This went on until the Communists were overthrown and now the wall is a permanent monument to Lennon and to peace.  It cheered us up.

Some people don't read the wall!

The wall speaks for itself.

The wall is also continually evolving as artists add their own touches.

From there it was a short jaunt to Proudy --a controversial sculpture by David Cerny.  Why is it controversial? Well, Proudy consists of "two bronze men who robotically waggle their metal junk around to spell out text messages with their pee".  It is outside the Kafka museum which I think is very fitting.  But there is more.  Even though the "arcs" of the pee appear random they are actually spelling out Czech literary quotes as though writing their names in the snow.  But it's water, so it's hard to figure out what they are writing.  Still more.  You can text message to a number (+420 724 370 770) and the statues will interrupt their current quote to do yours. Still more.  The basin into which they are peeing is shaped like the Czech Republic which I suppose is yet another commentary. You really must go beyond traditional travel guides to find this stuff.  I suggest Atlas Obscura. Really. We left Prague heartened by these two early morning encounters and girded ourselves for a big dose of totalitarianism.

A view of the Prague skyline from the restaurant where we ate.

Come To My Cabaret Old Chum, Life is a Cabaret 

All our gay friends are humming the tune of the title right now.  Well, maybe the 20s rocked in Berlin but things definitely got more grim as time went on.  On our way to Berlin we stopped at Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum.  It was the first concentration camp in Prussia and originally (1934-36) housed political opponents of the Nazis.  They cranked things up in 1936 and constructed a new "model" camp which served as a blueprint for other camps.  Now they rounded up people they considered racially or biologically inferior.  Over 200,000 people were housed in Sachsenhausen from '36 -'45.  Unlike other camps there were no gas chambers there but tens of thousands of prisoners died of starvation, disease, forced labor or were systematically murdered by the SS.  Well the Nazis were beaten but it wasn't the end of Sachsenhausen.  The Russians picked right up and loaded ex-Nazis and other "undesirables" into the camp until 1950.  About 12,000 died of malnutrition and disease under their watch.  The place lay fallow until 1961 when design began on the Memorial.  Seeing this place was chilling and I reckon it was nothing compared to the horrors of Auschwitz or Bergen-Belsen.

Two of the stained glass windows in the Memorial Hall.

The Memorial Hall.

The entrance to the concentration camp.

"Work sets you free"

A sign announcing the neutral zone. Stepping into this area would get you shot.

One of the cells.  They had a prison which was ironic since the whole place was a prison.

The cell door.

For punishment prisoners would have their hands tied behind their backs and were suspended from these poles.

A track ran around the camp. The prisoners were forced to test boots by walking around the track for hours with 40 to 50 pound packs on their back filled with rocks.

On the following two days we did a blitzkrieg (couldn't help it) of Berlin.  The Reichstag Dome and building was amazing in terms of innovative architecture.  Now here is a list of all the depressing sites we saw in Berlin: Memorial to Murdered Jews (Nazis); Topography of Terror (Nazis); DDR Museum (Communists); Checkpoint Charlie Museum (Communists); Brandenburg Gate (Everybody).  It was very educational but made you want to go have a few stiff drinks.  Luckily we found the Tajikistan Tearoom -- "an unexpected (you bet) slice of Central Asia in the midst of Berlin".The tearoom was built as a Tajikistan pavilion at one of the Leipzig trade fairs in the 1970 and afterwards was donated to the East German hosts.  It was very cool and served more than tea. Yahoo!

This is one of the older buildings in Berlin. It contains Kurt Tucholsky's quote: "Soldiers are murderers". To learn more follow this link: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldaten_sind_Morder

The top of the Reichstag building where the Bundestag meets.

This is the interior of the glass dome of the Reichstag. The center is designed to illuminate the Bundestag (where the national Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany meets). 

The Carillon in the Tiergarten.

The Soviet Soldier, Soviet War Memorial in the Tiergarten.

The Brandenburg Gate.

The Neue Synagogue ("New Synagogue") was built in 1859-1866 as the main synagogue of the Jewish community. Its splendid eastern Moorish style and resemblance to the Alhambra makes it an important architectural monument of 19th century Berlin.

The dome on top of the Reichstag building.

Inside the Holocaust Memorial.

The Holocaust Memorial with the Hotel Adlon at the far right in the background.

A piece of the Berlin Wall on display on the street.

As can be seen from these photos, Berlin has many modern buildings in its cityscape.

But it still has some older buildings as well. This is the Martin-Gropius-Bau erected between 1877 and 1881 in the neo-Renaissance style. Martin Gropius was a great uncle of Walter Gropius who fled Germany, came to Harvard and was a famous modern architect.

The building is next to the Berlin Wall Memorial. A section of the wall is shown below.

Who would believe that this photo of the men in the silly hats would be some of the most feared members of the National Socialist ("Nazi") Party. (Can you spot Adolf?)

It's a tough job holding up this building.

The infamous Checkpoint "Charlie".

The Checkpoint Charlie Museum showed some of the ingenious ways Germans escaped from the East to the West.

It also poked fun at the Soviet controllers.

As well as highlighting current atrocities. This is a North Korean crib for prisoners' children.

Berlin has some whimsical statues as well.

Later we would take a boat ride on the Spree River, but first we went to the Neues Museum.

All of these sculptures were just outside the museum.

While this one was on the museum building.

I included this photo so you can get an idea of how the gold pieces below were worn. These came from an ancient Egyptian tomb.

The collection of ancient Egyptian heads from sarcophagi was most impressive,...

as was the sarcophagi.

Although we didn't see any refugees, we did see this monument to the refugee children.

Nothing like soaking your feet and drinking a beer by the Spree.

This is the figurehead of Field Marshall Helmuth von Moltke on the bridge named after him, which was built in 1891. He did not appear to be a very happy man.

Another modern building...

followed by a much older building, which was the Postfuhramt (old post office), which was constructed between 1875-1881.

Photos of the Tajikistan Tearoom.

Refreshed and fortified we returned to our apartment which boasted many TV channels.  Exhausted and a bit bummed by all that history I surfed the channels.  And there it was:  Hogan's Heroes!  Why? Why would Germans watch Hogan's Heros? The show wallows in the stupidity of the Nazi Colonel Klink not to mention the obtuse Sargent Schulz while highlighting the cleverness and uprightness of the Allies.  Oh, maybe that's it. National guilt.  Anyway, I invite you to watch a rerun and submit your thoughts on why Germans would watch it.

Tactics for  Dealing with Trump

And while we are on the subject of odd political/social situations, let's talk about what it is like to be an American traveling in Europe in the age of Trump.  First, you WILL be asked.  Perhaps shyly, perhaps tentatively, perhaps aggressively.  But you WILL be asked. So, to spare your developing your own defensive armor, allow me to reveal the Searles Strategy called:  The 5 Ds to Dealing with Donald.  Even on the very off chance you are a Trump person, I would recommend using these tactics or you will face the wrath of Europe.  Here they are:

1) Disclaim:  "We are SO sorry about all this.  We didn't, did not, would never vote for him"
2) Deconstruct:  "He is SO not normal.  Most Americans are mystified as to how such a narcissistic,     unhinged person gained the presidency."
3) Deflect:  "Well, let's face it.  It's not just us.  Look at Brexit, the rise of nationalism.  The whole world is going nuts."
4) Deride:  Tell a Trump joke or just quote him.  Sigh and shake your head.
5) Disappear:  Offer one more "SO sorry about all this".... and melt into the crowd.

We were asked many, many times about our current President from everybody from a professional guy we ran into in a hotel lobby to an 18 year old ticket taker at a fort on a remote island.  Be prepared!

So, we are about halfway there.  Things get cheerier (after one rough day) as we head out of Germany and wend our way to Slovenia.  More soon.  Hope you are enjoying summer.....