Facing History & Ourselves in Europe 2008

Today we went on a walking tour throughout Berlin, the capital city of Germany. One of our first stops was at the Berlin Wall. It may not seem like much of a wall since it is very thin but it is marked with great history. The Berlin Wall went up in 1961 and came down in 1989. The wall was an amazing 100 miles long and it took 56 hours to build. The Berlin wall started as a chain link fence and was the border to separate the East which was the Communist section, and the West which was the Democratic section. Today, the remains of the wall attract many tourists and the area contains many historical photographs. The wall itself is marked with graffiti and many pictures. From this tour we learned a lot about Hitler’s impact on Berlin. When Hitler was incarcerated, he wrote Mein Kampf. In this book, he referred to the Jews as vermin and influenced others to do the same. Not only did this cause people to believe that they were superior to the Jews, but it led to Hitler carrying out his plans to exterminate the Jews. Our tour guide reminded us of the seemingly small roles that many, many people played in carrying out Hitler’s mission. For instance, people worked in the train stations where the Jews departed and others issued tickets for their journeys. Even when the secrets of the Holocaust were exposed, Hitler’s approval rating was at 90%. We believe he was supported because people were afraid of him and thought that disagreeing with Hitler could become a death sentence. However, we were reminded that some Germans risked everything to protect Jewish people. They felt for these people who were living in pain. Some Germans would take them for as long as two years. This shows that people actually cared about Jews and didn’t want to see this group of people be erased from mankind. We actually stood on the ground where Hitler’s underground bunker once existed and learned that he hid there to protect himself from the advancing Soviet Army. At one time, it was a huge, comfortable complex with plenty of food and supplies to survive. Although Hitler was safe, he wasn’t safe for long. We learned that he and his new wife committed suicide in this bunker and were ultimately turned into dust and thrown into the river. Throwing the ashes into the river eliminated the possibility of designating a burial site where shrines could be made. Another significant place we visited today was the Holocaust Memorial created in honor of those who perished in the Holocaust. It consisted of 2,711 stones of different shapes and sizes. The granite used for this memorial is graffiti proof so no one can write anything on the stones. Visitors can interpret the memorial in many ways. We thought it was a good way to show how the Jews felt during those times. As we walked through the design, it felt like a maze and when the stones got larger, we started to feel very alone and confused. It was almost creepy, but it sends an important message.

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