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Oh my god. What time is it? Why are they pounding on the door? It's the Germans! Just think what that meant sixty years ago. That 06h00 passport check is a killer. Why can't we just get along as a species? We'd all get a lot more sleep that way.  Once again the train is right on time. What's the deal with that?!? Let me see.... how much Polish money do I have left over? 75 Zloty's. That's nice. Those get filed under "Useless Currency" in my wallet right along with the Canadian money. The train ride westward was like a rebirth. Travelling away from death and back into life again. And stepping off the train it feels so great to be back. But back where? In Berlin? In Germany? In the west? I can't believe how fantastic I feel. It's seems impossible after wearing the same clothes for two days and travelling halfway across Europe in the same amount of time. I feel... I don't know... like my old self again somehow. Free. Today's choice of music reflects this feeling and this outlook very well, I think. But we'll come back to that a bit later in more detail.  After a shower I feel pretty good. True, once clean I still have to put on the same stinky clothes that I've been wearing for three days. True, I am feeling a bit sun-sick as I often get when I am exposed to even a little bit of sun. True, my feet (and in particular my second toe) are killing me thanks to my bright idea of bringing along my too-tight black socks that I hate instead of normal socks so I could just throw them away after I used them and not be sad. All of this is true, but all things considered I feel really really good and ready to face another day on the road. "You brought a clean change of socks for each day but not clean underwear?" asks Skye. Hey man! When you're travelling light - and I am, in fact, carrying with me only the shoulder bag that I bring to work every day - then you have to seriously prioritise. A long time ago my travelling goal with regard to baggage was to go on an overseas trip with nothing but a carry-on bag. There's nothing quite like avoiding that wait at the baggage carousel, let me tell you. And you can fit a lot into small bag as long as you pack smart and remember that clothes can be washed in the sink and that jackets and contents therein do not count as carry-on.  So let's see... where are we now in our story? Back at the Brandenburg Tor, obviously, but I don't think this has anything to do with our story. I think I just stopped here for.... hmmmm. Why did I stop here again?!? We covered this the day before yesterday.  Oh wait... I guess there's one thing I can mention here - something I ALWAYS mention about the Brandenburg Tor and the Victory Column you see in the distance through the centre portal of the gate. (It's the big tall column with the golden statue on top that was made famous by Wim Wenders and U2 in the Faraway So Close video.) That column, way back there directly in line with the Brandenburg Tor along the East-West axis road, was not always located where we find it today. It was actually originally placed directly in front of the nearby Reichstag building but was moved to its current location as part of the planning for the city of Berlin by Hitler and Albert Speer. So, as I always like to say... one of Hitler's legacies to the world is apparent every time someone snaps a photo (like this one) of the Brandenburg Tor and the Victory Column in the distance.  Here we see Bono standing at the top of the statue and the East-West axis road visible below.  And for those enjoy those before and after photos I have a few that I can share with you of the Brandenburg Tor after the war.  The city of Berlin was REALLY destroyed during the bombing campaigns in the war. Thousands were rendered homeless and without electricity and water.  Traffic control was very important to the Soviet overlords... I mean... governors of Berlin. (Although this photo is actually in what would become West Berlin.)  Some tanks parked in Pariser Platz some time shortly after the Russians took Berlin.  Once the rubble was cleared there wasn't much left of Berlin. This photo was taken some time after the war, but before 1961 when the wall was built. You can see the Reichstag without a dome (which also places the date of this photo into the 1950s because it was some time before they demolished what was left of the dome) . You can see a parking lot where the Jewish Memorial now is being built. And at the bottom right you can see a clump of trees where the Hotel Adlon would be re-built... and fifty years later Michael Jackson would dangle his baby out of the window there.  This photo is quite interesting. It was taken in 1957 and shows the Brandenburg Tor without the chariot statue at its summit. Instead there is a flag of some sort. A East German flag perhaps? A Russian flag because it is in the Russian sector of Berlin?  Walking over toward the Reichstag again I notice something I've never seen before. Here in this patch of woods next to the Reichstag there is a sign announcing that they plan to build here a memorial to the Sinti and Roma civilians who were murdered by the Nazis. I am glad to see this because I am interested in such things, of course, but on the other hand I can understand why one might ask how many memorials to the victims of the Nazis does Germany need? What's next? A memorial to the Aryan-Italian housewives who were murdered by the Nazis? The Nazis murdered millions. Memorials are a good thing. But don't people realise that endlessly splitting the victims into racial and ethnic divisions is kind of a bit "Nazi" in itself? We're all human beings and millions of our fellow human beings were murdered by the Nazis.  Speaking of memorials.... this is an interesting memorial out in front of the Reichstag building dedicated to the various deputies in the parliament of the Weimar Republic who were rounded up and murdered by the Nazis. See previous text for applicable commentary regarding memorials. And if you were already thinking that I was an Anti-Roma-ite and a Anti-Sinti-ite then you might as well add Anti-German-Parliamentarian-ite to the list as well. But, frankly, I don't even know what a "Sinti" is.  Which brings us to the Reichstag. Might as well see it in the light of day, I guess.  It also gives me the opportunity to show this photo from 1946 showing the wrecked and domeless Reichstag building.  Here I am trying to relive that fantastic photo I took at Gleis 17 two days again. It's not the same, is it? But like that previous photo also did this one foreshadows the next destination in our story.  And so it's back through the Brandengurg Tor to catch a bus. I almost didn't take this particular photo on this trip but at the last second I couldn't resist. I like this view because as you walk across this particular crosswalk you can see the path of the Berlin Wall as it wound its way through Berlin. In the pavement closest you can see a line of bricks, right? That is where the Berlin Wall once stood. We are about to enter East Berlin as soon as the light turns green.  See? The Berlin Wall - 1961 to 1989.  And here we see almost the exact same view that we saw a moment ago except that this is from just after the war with the city in ruins.  Ok. So I'll spare you the twenty minute bus ride in the direction of the Tegel airport and take you right to the first stop today in our on-going story of the Nazi era. This is Plötzensee memorial located at the site of the former Plötzensee prison. It was here that members of the so-called 20 July conspiracy to assassinate Hitler were executed following several so-called trials.  Other victims were executed here as well during the 12 years of Nazi rule in Germany and this memorial stands in their memory as well, but it is the executions of the conspirators that is probably best known.  This scene might look familiar. In this room the convicted 20 July conspirators were strung up with piano wire on meat hooks. (Any of that sound familiar?) The flowers left here are in memory of those who (belatedly) tried to remove Hitler from power in Germany.  Stringing people up with piano wire should not be confused with hanging where they drop you and your neck is broken to kill you. Piano wire is an extremely unpleasant way to kill someone as it cuts into your neck, perhaps nearly decapitating you, as you choke to death. The film of the executions was sent to Hitler, who was eager to see the demise of those who plotted to kill him. Many accounts relate that Hitler sat watching the film gleefully over and over but the accuracy of this rates up there with the accounts of Hitler stating that he was a "house painter" or "cowardly corporal" - that is to say that they are not accurate. Hitler was NOT a house painter, nor did his service in the First World War qualify as "cowardly". And by the accounts of his adjutants who survived the war Hitler was distressed by the severity of the film showing the executions and did not want to see it again. At any rate, whatever you believe as true, come on... we all know that Hitler was a bad guy, we don't need to make up false stories about him, right?  In addition to piano wire and meat hooks the guillotine was also used at Plötzensee for executions. This is often seen as further proof of the barbarity of the Nazi regime, but conveniently overlooks the fact that guillotines were used by several countries in Europe before and during the Second World War and continued to be used by the French until the late 1970s as a means of executions.  Leaving the memorial site takes us past an urn of the ashes of the victims of the Nazi regime. It's weird because at all the places I've visited thus far I've picked up or paid for various pamphlets and map-guides and this place has the most enormous and extensive pamphlet of any of them... and the whole memorial here is two rooms and a small garden. I stupidly picked up one in the French language, but if you are REALLY interested you can check out the pamphlet yourself as I was available to get it online.  Back on the bus again takes us back into the centre of Berlin once again. I've been seeing quite a few flags at half-mast (such as the British flag straight ahead) as well as pictures of the British Queen on front pages. What's going on? Who died? The Queen?!???  Back at the Brandenburg Tor I stop for a lunch of Currywurst, which is the typical Berlin sausage. Basically it's just a hot dog cut into pieces with curry ketchup and curry powder on top. It's really good, but hardly my favourite German local sausage. It's strange, too, because they always have a machine that cuts the sausages up. They drop it on the top and it cuts it up and spits the pieces out the bottom. Now... is it just me or would it just be easier for the vendor to take a knife? Cleaning a machine is certainly a bigger pain in the ass that cleaning a knife. But maybe that's just me.  Berlin is a city that is simultaneously difficult and easy to imagine as it was during the Nazi reign. One aspect that is difficult for most people to bring themselves to imagine is the fact that Hitler was so immensely popular with the German people. But the fact is that he was. Even ten years after the war (according to surveys) some 40% of the German people still had a favourable opinion of him. To this day many older people still do. To them his greatest failure was that he lost the war.  The scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade of Hitler signing autographs was not some far-fetched thing as some might imagine. Of course the Führer signed autographs. Here we see him signing autographs for some dedicated young members of the Hitler Youth.  Signing autographs wasn't all Hitler did for the Youth of Germany. They were also indoctrinated into standing around half naked and giving the fascist salute. (Why are males in Nazi films and pictures so often not wearing shirts?!? Were shirts subversive or something?!?)  Speaking of subversion... here we see a page from a children's schoolbook from during the Nazi era that seems insane to most of us but illustrates again how we just can't understand how or why Hitler was so popular with the German people. But anyway.... I am finished my lunch now. Time to move on.  Continuing on our journey brings us by U-Bahn to Potsdammer Platz where I am surprised by the cheap price of nearby chain hotels: Hotel Ibis from 59€ per night. That's pretty good and the location is also perfect.  On the surface there is the opening of the Christmas market type thing here at Potsdammer Platz, complete with man-made snow and toboggan run.  The local media are here interviewing and getting photos and video footage of various people trying the toboggan run.  But toboggans and snow are not part of our story so I continue along taking a short walk to a nearby street named Stauffenbergstrasse. Claus von Stauffenberg was, of course, the man who planted the suitcase bomb in Hitler's headquarters in east Prussia on 20 July 1944 in an attempt to kill him. The assassination attempt was made as part of a conspiracy that involved the military and as this street was home to the offices of the armed forces high command at the time it was here that several of the plotters were killed on the evening of 20 July, including Stauffenberg. And... this is a bit off topic but there is, once again, a flag at half-mast in the background. Who died?!??? (NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: I never did figure out who died. It wasn't Arafat, by the way, he was still alive at this point. And the reason the British Queen was on the cover of newspapers was because she was visiting Germany at this time.)  So here we are at the former offices of the German Army High Command, now the home of the memorial to German resistance against the Nazis.  So here is an inscription basically saying what I said already: that after the failed attempt to kill Hitler the main conspirators were arrested here and executed.  Right here in the courtyard was where von Stauffenberg and others were shot. It is an interesting footnote to the story of the attempted coup that the way some of the conspirators were quickly identified was by the appearance of their names on a hand-written list outlining the provisional government that would be formed after the assassination of Hitler. Albert Speer's name appeared on this list showing that the conspirators considered him to possibly continue on in his role as Armaments Minister. Unlike the others listed, however, his name was followed by a single question mark. Evidently the conspirators were uncertain about Speer's reliability due to his close relationship with Hitler and questioned his continuation as a minister in their new government. That question mark saved Speer's life.  The plaque lists the names of those who died "for Germany" here on 20 July 1944. But the thing about it is this.... (and didn't you just know that I would have some opinion on it?) This conspiracy was formed, as I mentioned before, by members of the German armed forces - high-ranking ones, at that. I find it somewhat questionable to make too much out of this particular conspiracy as an example of German resistance to Hitler as it was a little bit too self-serving to really qualify as heroic resistance. You see, there was certainly no great love between the German Army High Command and Hitler. However, Hitler needed the army to carry out military campaigns all over Europe. Likewise the army wasn't at all displeased with carrying out Hitler's conquests. They were, after all, the army and conquering territory and glorifying themselves and Germany was perfectly along the lines of their own ambitions. By 1943-1944, however, things had gone sour for the German army, no thanks to Hitler's taking over command and making some bad decisions over the objections of the army command. By 1944 getting rid of Hitler worked to the army's advantage but this was a bit late in the game to win my admiration, however. Groups of REAL German "resistance" like the Red Orchestra or the White Rose had been operating long before it was advantageous for the army to attempt their coup.  Beside which... the army's attempted assassination didn't work. Stauffenberg placed the suitcase bomb and left but someone subsequently moved it underneath the leg of the heavy oak table that Hitler and others were looking at maps on. The bomb went off and Stauffenberg saw the explosion and was convinced that no one could have survived so he escaped back to Berlin. In reality, however, nearly everyone in the room survived, including Hitler, and the suspected conspirators were rounded up. Later on in the afternoon of the assassination attempt, while Stauffenberg was in the air on his way to Berlin, Hitler welcomed the Italian fascist leader Mussolini to his "Wolf Lair" in east Prussia and showed him the rooms where he had narrowly escaped death a few hours earlier.  "Il mio dio!" says Mussolini. "Ciò assomiglia al mio appartamento!"  Hitler was not entirely unhurt in the explosion, of course. His eardrums were shattered, his back hurt by a falling beam, and his right arm was temporarily paralysed. A few weeks later he was still nursing his sore arm.  Walking back toward Potsdammer Platz gives a nice view of all the new buildings constructed there since the wall came down. You can also see this park we are in that is apparently designed for lonely people (look at the benches).  Back at Potsdammer Platz and en route to our next stop I am VERY relieved to see that this tower way back in the distance is still standing. This is the only remaining guard tower from the Berlin Wall still standing in its original location. With all the construction here I am always scared that they are going to tear it down. At the right you can also see some of the Berlin Wall as well. (Don't Destroy History! the scantily clad women say.)  Another view of this small section of the Berlin Wall that we just saw.  "How much wall does Berlin need?!?" Well, this particular section of the wall has something interesting right behind it so it will surely remain standing.  Here we see the area behind the section of Berlin Wall that we just saw. This is the former basement of the headquarters of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt or RSHA (Reich Security Head Office) that oversaw the operations of the Sicherheitsdienst or "SD" (Nazi Security Service), the Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo) and the Kriminal Polizei (Criminal Police). I mentioned this two days ago to say that Reinhard Heydrich was the head of this particular organisation, remember? Anyway, it was here in this building that one could say was the centre of Nazi terror and persecution in Berlin. The basement held various confinement cells and a stretch of these have now been converted into an exhibition detailing the history of the area as well that of persecutions under the Nazi regime.  I won't bore you with the details of the exhibition. After a point it all sort of becomes the same anyway. I mean, how many times does one need to read about the rise of Hitler, etc? Most of us are at least generally familiar with that. If you want to learn more feel free to view the exhibition of the so-called Topography of Terror online - http://www.topographie.de/openair/e/ That said.... I took this picture because I thought that the swastika figure made of marching soldiers at the bottom right was interesting.  And this photo I took because it showed the SS executing Jews in the city of Belgrade, which is a place that you don't generally hear a lot about in connection with Nazi persecutions, overshadowed, as it is, by the greater numbers of Jews executed in Poland and "the east". When will they break ground on the Belgrade Jews Memorial of Berlin? (I ask) For those who are so-minded you may also be interested to know that I had to PhotoShop some bird crap out of this photo that was dried up on the picture itself. I challenge you to figure out where. (PS - Don't waste your time. You won't be able to see it.)  Don't quote me 100% on it, but the yellow-circled bit SHOULD be the former location of the building of the RSHA offices and the current location of the Topography of Terror exhibit. Hmmmmm. No wait. That is DEFINITELY the location of it. I take back my prior uncertainty.  Looking back from the former basement of the RSHA building and along the various displays that make up the exhibition.  Making our way to the North again takes us past the only major building still standing that was built during the Nazi regime. This is the former home of the Luftwaffe ministry headed by Hermann Göring.  We now come to an important part of our journey. We have travelled very long and far to tell the story of the path of Nazi Terror in Germany. We have seen the glory days of the Nazi party in Nürnberg (as well as the final judgement passed on its leaders there). We've travelled to Berlin to see the rise of Hitler and the Nazis to power and persecutions, eventually leading to a short meeting on a pleasant local lake to discuss the fates of millions. We travelled east along the same routes that millions of deported Jews once took and saw the places of death where they spent their final hours. Returning to the west we have seen the beginnings of the end with the attempt on Hitler's life on 20 July 1944 and the aftermath that followed. We now enter the final days of the Thousand Year Reich. In the distance in this photo you can see the dome of the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Tor in front of it. But the spot in which I am currently standing was once just down the hall from Hitler's office in his new Chancellery building, built for him by Albert Speer. Sixty years ago had I turned slightly to the left the door to Hitler's office would have shortly been on my right hand side.  Let's make that imaginary turn to the left, shall we? Looking down the hallway to its end.  A few steps and a turn to the right brings us to the door of Hitler's office.  Maps are always useful, aren't they? Anyway, this shows the turn and short walk that we just made on a map of the Führer Chancellery.  "Oh! Hello there!" the imaginary non-evil and friendly Hitler says to us. "Please won't you come inside my office?"  "My architect, Speer, has done a fine job in designing this building fit for the greatest man in all history. The former Chancellery building was fit for nothing more than a soap company." the imaginary Hitler continues. (I take this commentary from Speer's account of comments that Hitler made at the time of commissioning the new Chancellery.)  "Won't you have a seat at my desk and see what it's like to be me?" says the imaginary Hitler. No thanks. But it's very kind of you to offer.  Hitler didn't think much of his old Chancellery building. On the left of this picture you can see him waving out of its windows on the day that he was named Chancellor in January 1933. He complained of the lack of a balcony which would be the proper way for someone of his stature to wave to crowds. A balcony was therefore constructed on the outside of the building in the same spot (see picture on right).  Continuing down the hall to the left brings us to the Cabinet Room. Hitler did not, however, rule by means of a cabinet that advised him so this room was never really used. In fact, Hans Lammers (Head of the Chancery) stated at his testimony at Nürnberg that he once wanted to get the Cabinet together for an informal evening of beer but that Hitler had forbidden it.  Still moving off to the left brings us to the administration wing of the Führer Chancellery - the "Admin Building", if you prefer. This is where the fascist brainless bureaucrats would work. Ironically it is in Admin Buildings where fascist brainless bureaucrats STILL work to this day.  Getting the hell away from the Admin Building we head back toward where we started.  A nice view along the Marble Gallery leading past Hitler's Office once again.  Which brings us to the so-called Mosaic Hall.  And here we see the so-called Mosaic Hall.  Continuing toward the right takes us into the open air and the interior Court of Honour of the Führer Chancellery.  Realising who the hell we are the imaginary Hitler kicks us out of the building and we're resigned to look at models from now on. Here we see a useful image showing a model of the Chancellery building from the front side with the corner of Vossstrasse and Wilhelmstrasse closest to us. (The Admin Building is at the top left of the photo)  As you all know I didn't travel back in time to get these photos so I hope you won't mind that I've stolen this one off the Internet. I steal it because I think the photo of the Hitler's Chancellery is interesting all lit up from the opposite side of Vossstrasse. It somehow makes it more real to me to see those lights. I can't explain it. It just reminds me that some things in Hitler's day weren't all that different from the way they are now. Government buildings are still proudly illuminated at night. Does that make sense?  We now descend many metres below the Chancellery building and it's gardens to the bunker where Hitler spent his final days. This map of the bunker, taken from the book The Last Days of Hitler by Hugh Trevor-Roper shows the layout of the cramped damp bunker itself. The story of Hitler's last days is best told in the book I just mentioned as well as those of Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge as well as that of Nicolas von Below (one of Hitler's adjutants). There is also the new movie, Der Untergang, which is also very excellent. All of these tell the story much better than I ever could so if you're interested then check them out.  Suffice it to say that Hitler dwelled here the final few weeks of his life, directing non-existent armies to repel the Soviet onslaught. He resisted advice and pressure to escape to the Obersalzburg in southern Germany and continue the struggle from there. This decision shortened the war considerably, I think.  A bright moment in the final weeks came when news of president's Roosevelt's death came. This was it, they thought. This was the miracle that would turn things around. The alliance between the Allied nations would crumble and Germany would prevail. Of course that's not what happened, but for a short while this was big news.  And so, after marrying his mistress Eva Braun Hitler said his farewells and retired to his rooms where Eva took poison and Hitler did the same before shooting himself. Some of those in the bunker immediately lit up cigarettes, previously forbidden by Hitler. (A funny scene that was included in the film Der Untergang and that I'd read about previously as well.) Their bodies were taken to the surface here in the Chancellery gardens and doused in gasoline and set afire. From that moment on the atmosphere in the Chancellery changed. Everyone had their own survival to worry about now.  Sixty years later a small children's playground stands at the spot where Hitler and Eva Braun's bodies were burned.  We are now standing in what was once the gardens of the Führer Chancellery looking back toward what was once (and still is) the corner formed by the intersection of Vossstrasse and Wilhelmstrasse. These apartment buildings are more or less in the location of the former Führer Chancellery.  Ok, I think we might be getting a bit confused with all these changes in orientation. This map should help. The light blue area of this map is the area covered by the former Chancellery. In taking the previous photo I was standing approximately at the location of the "er" in the In Der Ministergarten and looking toward the bottom right of this map. Also shown in this map, for further orientation, are the Brandenberg Tor (Green Circle), the former RSHA headquarters (now the Topography of Terror - Orange Circle), and the former Air Ministry that we just saw (Purple Circle).  Here we see a slightly zoomed in version of the previous map where I have cleverly superimposed the map of the Chancellery onto the street map to show you exactly how things were laid out. My location in taking the previous photo is marked with a purple dot.  Now that we're properly oriented I can now show you this view of the model of the Chancellery as seen from the back. At the top left is where we are focussing our attention in the previous pictures and is the location of the part of the garden where Hitler and Eva Braun's bodies were burned.  Turning 180 degrees we can see the Reichstag and Brandenburg Tor in the distance through all the construction.  Here's a better view of the locations of the former Hitler Bunker and environs. In the corner formed by these two buildings Hitler and Eva Braun's bodies were burned. The bunker itself was basically underneath the area in the right half of this photo. Also visible is a group of people on bikes who are part of a tour that is currently learning all about the bunker and other stuff that we've just been talking about. The Hitler Bunker is a major tourist draw, you see, even though it's just a parking lot. It's like it's a little secret that only a few people know about.  Hitler's bunker was certainly a tourist attraction for the various Allied soldiers in the months just after the war.  In one of the last photos ever taken of Hitler we see him emerge from his bunker to view the damage to his precious Führer Chancellery.  After the end of the war British Prime Minister Winston Churchill does the same and tours the ruins of the Chancellery.  Here we see a view along Vossstrasse of the Chancellery after the war. The bombing campaign by the Allies caused significant damage to the Chancellery building and in particular to the Admin wing (serves them right). This part of Berlin would fall under Soviet control (as did Hitler's remains). As such the Soviets were free to do whatever they wanted with the ruins of the Chancellery. They tore the building completely down and put the salvaged marble and stone to good use, which we shall see shortly.  Speaking of ruins and bunkers.... Here we see a view across the long-awaited, but still under construction, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe which is being constructed on the site where Josef Goebbels's Propanganda Ministry (and bunker underneath) once stood.  I have been waiting for progress to be made on this memorial for some time now, I must admit. Good to see it finally off the ground. I look forward to its completion. Anyway, this is a view across the pattern of stones that will make up the memorial toward the apartment buildings (at right half) where the Chancellery and Hitler Bunker were located.  A better view along the stones that make up the Jewish memorial. I like simple yet powerful memorials (like the book burning one). I hope that this one will be like that once its completed.  A sign explains a bit of the history of the site chosen for the Jewish memorial.  A close up of the previous sign shows some helpful maps and an aerial photograph with the site of the memorial marked. Take note of the Chancellery building that we just saw just beneath the middle of the map on the left.  This photograph from during the Cold War also shows the site of the Jewish Memorial. It is taken from the Reichstag across the Brandenburg Tor to the enormous empty lot beyond, part of which will now be the Jewish memorial. Also take note of the Berlin Wall as it winds its way in front of the Brandenburg Tor. At the top left, as well - just in from the street, would be the location of the Hitler Bunker and where the bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun were burned.  Yet another view of the Jewish memorial. All these bricks makes me wonder if the plans call for six million bricks to be used. That would fitting, I think.  And so we continue through the post-war period and having seen the memorial being constructed in memory of the Jews who were murdered we now see what happened to the remains of Hitler's Chancellery. This is it. This is what remains of Hitler's Chancellery. The Soviet War Memorial that we saw the other night.  The sides of the war memorial are flanked by the first two tanks to enter Berlin as the Russians took the city. In the distance, through the trees, you can see the dome of the Reichstag.  Here we see a similar photo from 1947 where you can see the Reichstag quite clearly due to the complete LACK of trees (thanks to the Allied bombing campaigns).  I like this memorial very much. It is almost the only good thing to come from the Soviet side of things in the Second World War and it is such a fitting and appropriate memorial that I can scarcely believe that the government of Stalin came up with it. Even the out-of-proportion figure of a Soviet soldier at the top is touching. He seems so powerful and strong somehow. That is not to say that the Soviet soldiers were not strong. It's just to say that my mental image of the average Soviet soldier is that of a too-young farm-hand who is there against his will and who fights not of love of country but because if he doesn't one of the political commissars assigned to every unit will shoot him.  And so this journey comes to an end. A short trip on U2 to Zoo Station (ironic huh?) and I am enjoying an excellent salad on board an ICE train heading west toward Düsseldorf where I hope to spend a relaxing and normal weekend. It occurs to me that the period of time from the moment I arrived in Berlin two days ago to the moment I left just a short time ago was a mere six minutes shy of exactly 48 hours. In just two short days I have travelled great distances and have seen many interesting things. So far and so many that even I am amazed at how much I was able to accomplish. Similarly, in a short while when my train arrives in Düsseldorf and this strange odyssey essentially comes to an end it will have been exactly one week since I set out from The Hague. In that short time - 7 days / 168 hours / 10.080 minutes / 604.800 seconds - I have travelled a total of 3000 kilometres. I don't know if many people recognise sufficiently the incredible impact that the Second World War has had on our planet. The world we inhabit, the problems that face us, the beliefs we cherish, and perhaps even the freedoms that some of us are lucky enough to be able to take for granted have all come to us as a result of events in the Second World War. Of course the roots of anything can be traced endlessly backward through history, but no other single series of events has so shaped the future and the world we currently inhabit. Many people in the western world today feel that the seemingly sudden rise of Islamic terrorism is the greatest threat to their own lives in a global sense. The events of 11 September 2001 obviously play an overwhelming role in that perception but many seem to be conveniently unaware of the development of this situation over the last fifty years (not to mention the two millennia before that). Without the Holocaust would there be a Jewish homeland in Israel? Without the Second World War would there have been a Cold War? Without the Cold War would there be an Osama Bin Laden and his band of CIA left-overs? Without an Israeli state to support and fighters in Afghanistan to have turned their backs on how would the radical Islamic world view the United States? For that matter, how would American foreign policy look had there not been a Second World War? These are all "what if" questions that we shall never know the answers to. The world that we now inhabit is very much a product of the events of the Second World War, much as the world then was a product of its own history. The Holocaust and the Second World War changed the demographics of Europe forever, just as (for example) the demographic map of Bosnia was redrawn during the conflicts there. Aside from the shuffling around of populations as political tools there also remains that in Europe before the Second World War there was a visible Jewish presence whereas today this is no longer the case. Aside from the tragic and horrible murders of the Jews in the Holocaust there is also the impossible to imagine change of the demographic face of Europe itself. We here today are incapable of imaging Europe as it was before the Holocaust. To put it more simply: the Europe of today is very much "Judenfrei" (Jew-Free). Despite the defeat of Hitler and the Nazis their "victory" in this respect cannot be undone. The eloquent Justice Robert Jackson, in addressing the court at the first Nürnberg trial, has already spoken to this issue and in his opening statement he expressed the feeling better than I ever could hope to: The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated. In the prisoners' dock sit twenty-odd broken men. Reproached by the humiliation of those they have led almost as bitterly as by the desolation of those they have attacked, their personal capacity for evil is forever past. It is hard now to perceive in these miserable men as captives the power by which as Nazi leaders they once dominated much of the world and terrified most of it. Merely as individuals, their fate is of little consequence to the world. Months later Jackson would quote William Shakespeare's Richard III in his closing statement: These defendants now ask this Tribunal to say that they are not guilty of planning, executing, or conspiring to commit this long list of crimes and wrongs. They stand before the record of this Trial as bloodstained Gloucester stood by the body of his slain king. He begged of the widow, as they beg of you: 'Say I slew them not.' And the Queen replied, 'Then say they were not slain. But dead they are...' If you were to say of these men that they are not guilty, it would be as true to say that there has been no war, there are no slain, there has been no crime." But dead they are... The Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes' Remembrance Authority has just this week officially unveiled their amazing searchable online database of biographical information for three million of the six million victims of the Nazi genocide. I highly recommend checking out this website.
With respect to my own "closing statement" to this Travelogue I can merely aspire to the eloquence of Mr Jackson in quoting something that I myself once wrote: |
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