Susan Jacobson

While I was in Berlin, I visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. The Berlin Wall and the Cold War had more attraction for me than the Nazi Nation history of Berlin, so I went in search of artifacts of that period.

I was *horribly* disappointed by the so-called museum. Apparently all of the original structures of the gateway between East and West Berlin have been destroyed. All that is left is the cheesy US/German soldier signs that used to greet people coming and going. The "museum" is housed in a cramped, un-airconditioned space. There are few original artifacts, mostly photo reproductions posted on the walls, some lame "children's" artwork mourning the existence of the wall or celebrating its demise, and old anti-Communist propaganda films. There is a replica of a 1960s-1970s era car that encourages visitors to "find the hiding spots" where East Berliners used to hide to escape into West Berlin. (Can you imagine the furor if we discussed the Mexican immigration issue in the same terms?)



But what offended me most was the fact that the narrative has been completely co-opted as coming from the anti-Commie US Hawks perspective. The only story that the museum tells is the "evil" that led to building the Wall (the East Berliners voted the commies in voluntarily), the tragedy of families torn apart, the people who died trying to "escape" from East Berlin into West Berlin, and the joyous occasion that marked the tumbling down of the Berlin Wall.



While I, too, celebrated the end of the Berlin Wall, I know that there must be so much more to the story of East Berlin than simply an evil totalitarian dictatorship who kept their people in slavery. I would really like to know what that story is, and I would really like to see a CheckPoint Charlie-like museum describe it. The other amazing thread in this story is how post-Nazi Germany played out in East Berlin. Where's that story? sweetsatingirl? Do you know anything about this?

I am still in London, staying with the super-wonderful kuaimao and her hubby in their lovely flat with their lovely kitty Kaija. They have been very good to me! We went to Camden Market and ate at the famous Wagamama's. Jessica made a wonderful dinner for me and her friends Marie and David last night. I saw Buckingham Palace. I have lots of London photos to share, but right now I have only uploaded my Berlin photos, so let's start here and I'll post the London pics later.

Berlin is a city that I would definitely return to. The history is fascinating, and the scope and bustle of the city was a welcome change after the slower-paced Erfurt and Dresden. The first stop was the Reichstag, seat of the German parliament. My guidebook said that the Germans built a glass dome on top of it after World War 2, to emphasize transparency in government. It was quite cool - you can see all of Berlin from inside the dome.



Not far from the Reichstag is the Holocaust Memorial, situated on Hannah Arendt Street. The memorial is a field of differently-sized grey stone slabs. It's quite eerie.



My favorite site in Berlin was a section of the Berlin Wall that was said to be near the former headquarters of the Nazi SS. In a rather complicated display, a section of the old wall stands at the intersection of Niederkirchnerstrasse, Wilhelmstrasse and Anhalter Strasse is situated on top of an excavation called Topographies of Terror. The Berlin Wall is its own testament, but the exhibit below and in front of the Wall is about the atrocities of the Nazi SS. Apparently, the site was to house a documentation and visitors center, but plans for building the center were repeatedly put on hold. (The people behind the center claim a conpsiracy by the German government.) A large field of rubble in front of the Wall remnant is supposed to be where the SS Building was located. Personally, I came to the site to look at the Wall. But the intermixing of the two not-so-distant German tragedies made me appreciate how complicated their modern history really is. ( See more images from Berlin and read about my disappointing visit to Checkpoint Charlie. )