If you’re even remotely interested in Cold War history, no
other city in the world will grab your interest the way Berlin will.
Although Berlin doesn’t offer the glamor or wealth of Munich
and Hamburg, nor the international commerce of Frankfurt, or the architectural
awe of Heidelberg, Berlin is one of Europe’s most unique capitals. Only 25 years ago was the city broken into different sectors
and split in two by an 87-mile long, 12-foot tall concrete wall, each side
governed by opposing ideologies. It’s a city where the United States and Soviet Union aimed tanks at each other during all
hours of the day at Checkpoint Charlie’s East/West Berlin border crossing.
It’s a city where locals still consider their “Berliner”
identification to come far before their nationality (similar to that of New
Yorkers and Bostonians). Travel books will take you to the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
Cathedral and remains of the Berlin Wall at the East Side gallery; all places crowded
with tourists. While these are great
attractions, Berlin has so much more to offer.
After exploring 2 months in Berlin, I discovered the following sights to
boast a rare authenticity and wonder that any Cold-War history buff will
love.
(1) Teufelsberg
Teufelsberg, translated as “Devils Mountain”, is a man-made
hill overlooking the German capital city.
Unlike parts of southern Germany, northwest Germany is rather flat and
not too mountainous. The history of this
‘mountain’ outside the city is just one of the fascinating historical aspects
of Teufelsberg. I spent an afternoon
hiking up the forested hill with a German friend who wasn’t even aware of
Teufelsberg’s existence.
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| Hitler's proposed Military Technical college |
After the Second World War, similar to the city of Dresden,
Berlin was almost entirely destroyed.
The Americans moved south towards Hitler’s “Eagles Nest”, allowing the
Soviets to invade Berlin, ultimately ending the war. Berlin’s destruction, of
course, left the city in utter ruins. Towards the end of the war, Hitler was in the process of
building a military-technical college (Wehrtechnische Fakultät); one that was still under partial
construction during the Allied invasion.
The Allies attempted blowing it to pieces, but its’ sturdy construction
left the structure relatively unaffected.
As a result, during the post-war cleanup process of Berlin, the Allies
found it more productive to pile the city’s rubble on top of the
university. As a result, in the middle
of Berlin’s Grunewald Forest, was a pile of rubble completely concealing this
Nazi institution.
intriguing place to explore.
Although the former listening center is completely abandoned
and empty, all the buildings still remain.
Many graffiti artists have created quite impressive works of art
throughout the complex. Although in
recent years exploring on your own was possible, it has since been privately
bought and the current owners offer both silent and German-speaking tours for
both 8 and 15 Euros. I strongly
recommend visiting the former listening station.
The history you’ll witness, as well as the
encompassing view of the city you’ll receive, is absolutely priceless. Since Teufelsberg is in the middle of the
city’s Grunewald, you can reach it by taking the S7 (purple) line to the
“Grunewald” S-bahnhof station. From
there, it’s a nearly 45 minute hike.
Because it’s still a quite unknown area of the city, you won’t find
signs that lead you there via way of the forest and there is no clear
path. The best option is to navigate
yourself through the forest with a smartphone GPS.
(2) Tempelhof Airport
Berlin was the home of most Cold War tension. Tempelhof Airport in Berlin’s city center
played a role in the first large international spark between Soviet and Western
powers. With the addition of a newly-constructed
wall separating both Soviet and Western sectors of the city, the Soviets
instituted a blockade of the city. By
doing this they blocked roads, train stations, rivers, and canals all through
the city—ultimately giving the Allies the inability to provide supplies to their
sectors in West Berlin. As a result, the
USSR hoped this would force the three allies to surrender Berlin
completely. The three powers, however,
responded with the Berlin Airlift. The
Berlin Airlift was comprised of aircrews from America, Britain and France
landing over 200,000 planes in just one year full of supplies for West Berlin
citizens.
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| Berliners watch as the Allies land supplies for their city in ruins |
Tempelhof’s history precedes that of even the Cold War time
period. In the early 30’s, Adolf Hitler wished to make Tempelhof the Nazi
empire’s central airport, superseding airports in both France and Britain. The
airport’s second terminal reached an unprecedented size, becoming one of the
world’s largest buildings at the time.
After the denazification of Germany, Allied forces removed all swastika
and WWII-era German eagles from the terminal’s exterior columns. If you walk around the block of the large
airport today, you can faintly see where the Nazi-era symbols once hung.
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| Tempelhof from above during the Berlin Airlift |
After the Cold War, Tempelhof continued commercial
operations until 2008. Before 2008, it
was commonly thought to have been the oldest functioning airport in the
world. During its time as Berlin’s
primary commercial airport, Tempelhof had been a hub for airlines such as Pan
American and Lufthansa.
What’s so incredible about this historic airport is that,
although no longer receiving commercial flights, the city now operates it as a
vast public park. It’s a surreal thing
to be able to ride a bike down Tempelhof’s entire airstrip—one where such
history took place. On any given day,
thousands of Berliners can be found all over the grounds of the airports. I was fortunate enough to enjoy the park on a
windy Sunday afternoon. Families were
having picnics in-between runways, teenagers were rollerblading and riding
their bikes, and many others flew kites and remote-control airplanes. There are multiple kiosks throughout the
former-airport grounds where one can rent a pair of rollerblades or a bicycle. Berliners
love Tempelhof, and after visiting it’s easy to see why.
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| Tempelhof Airport present day |
Because the entire property of the airport
takes up a massive area within Berlin’s city center, this summer the city of
Berlin announced their wish to turn the former-airport into an affordable
housing complex for the ever-growing city.
The idea was put to a vote, allowing Berliners to voice their opinions
on the project. The citizens of Berlin
overwhelmingly opposed the building project.
Because of other massive parks like the Grunewald and Tiergarten, Berlin
is often characterized as a large city with many spontaneous open areas. Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport is certainly no
exception.
(3) Reichstag
Berlin’s Reichstag building is the official seat of
Germany’s Bundestag. The Bundestag is
the official legislative body of Germany.
This might be my only actual major “tourist” attraction on this
list. But it’s rightfully here. Because, although government buildings in
most capital cities seem virtually uninteresting, Germany’s house of parliament
is the most-visited parliamentary house in the world. It receives far more annual visitors than
even Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
After learning the bizarre history of the Reichstag building, it’s easy
to see why it attracts so many visitors.
The Reichstag was built in the late 1800’s and, although it
has suffered fires and bombing, the building’s foundation has always remained. The Bundestag of a united Germany, however,
has only met at the Reichstag since 1999.
For several years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany’s parliament
met in Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. Unlike many countries or governments, Germany
has had a rare sense of obsession with its 21st century
history. Unless you’re in Germany for
the World Cup, you’ll see very little national pride amongst citizens. Even 60 years later, there’s still a great
sense of common national shame as a result of the atrocities committed by the
Third Reich. Thus, especially in Berlin,
you’ll see most government intuitions and memorials having components that
serve as constant reminders of their past; in an effort to prevent history from
repeating itself. It’s a unique a mature
response that other governments could learn from. At the Reichstag, this sense of “remembering
the past” is laced all throughout the architecture of the building. Although a key structure during the reign of
the Nazi’s, Adolf Hitler never addressed a crowd or even spoke at the
Reichstag. Because of this, Germans felt
it acceptable to return their unified parliament to its historic location. The main attraction of the newly-renovated
Reichstag is the spiral glass rooftop.
Most tourists come to walk the rooftop’s spiral, which allows an
incredible view of the city and a fascinating tour. However, merely visiting the Reichstag’s
rooftop is just one great aspect of entirety of the building.
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| Visitors inside the spiral rooftop overlooking the city |
Similar to Washington, other government buildings surrounding
the Reichstag are connected by underground tunnels. As an intern, we were given a private tour of
these tunnels. Something that stuck out
to me that correlates to “remembering Germany’s past” is the massive
state-of-the-art office building for all parliamentary ministers. The entire building is made of glass with no
curtains, intentionally allowing clear visibility into each room from
outside. This was done to encourage
transparency, and show the people that government representation is open to absolute
public scrutiny. This was key for a
country that has a history of government surveillance and propaganda.
Another interesting observation in the tunnels under the Reichstag was a room build by walls of bricks. The room had hundreds and hundreds of bricks, each with a name of every leader who had been democratically-elected in German/Prussian history. This room was fascinating. Amongst the many names were famous leaders like Otto Van Bismarck, and of course, current chancellor Angela Merkel. Of the many bricks, one in particular had been chipped, bashed in and worn. The engraving had obviously been chipped at, yet the brick still held a spot on the wall. This was the name of Adolf Hitler. Having his name amongst the rulers of Germany was incredibly controversial, but the German government decided that omitting his name from the wall could be interpreted as covering up a regretful time period. They also left his name to show the imperfections of a democratic system—one that “legally” elected Hitler as Germany’s chancellor in the 30’s.
Another interesting observation in the tunnels under the Reichstag was a room build by walls of bricks. The room had hundreds and hundreds of bricks, each with a name of every leader who had been democratically-elected in German/Prussian history. This room was fascinating. Amongst the many names were famous leaders like Otto Van Bismarck, and of course, current chancellor Angela Merkel. Of the many bricks, one in particular had been chipped, bashed in and worn. The engraving had obviously been chipped at, yet the brick still held a spot on the wall. This was the name of Adolf Hitler. Having his name amongst the rulers of Germany was incredibly controversial, but the German government decided that omitting his name from the wall could be interpreted as covering up a regretful time period. They also left his name to show the imperfections of a democratic system—one that “legally” elected Hitler as Germany’s chancellor in the 30’s.
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| Russian graffiti remains on the interior walls |
Something that really made an impact on me during the tour
was the Russian graffiti on the walls throughout the main floor of the
Bundestag. When the Soviets conquered
the city after WWII, Soviet soldiers viewed the Reichstag Building as their prized
possession. They vandalized and looted the
building’s interior with anti-German sentiment.
As renovations to the entire building were underway, rather than
painting over all the walls inside the building’s interior, the German
government decided to keep the Russian graffiti as a remembrance of their
tyrannical government’s conquering. Even
in 2014, as German parliamentary representatives walk through the hallways headed
towards the main chamber, they can still see the words of their Russian
victors.
Another interesting aspect of the Reichstag, one that is
often seen in pictures and postcards, is the wrapping of the Reichstag. In 1995, the unified German parliament had
decided to move from Bonn to Berlin, renovations to prepare the Reichstag to host
Germany’s Bundestag were underway. Before construction was completed, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude began their signature project to wrap the entirety of the Reichstag with fireproof polypropylene fabric, as if it were a Christmas present. Thousands of Berliners gathered throughout the grounds in front of the Reichstag to witness the unveiling of its completion. It’s the largest building in the world to ever be wrapped.
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| The "wrapped" Reichstag by Christo and Jeanne-Claude |
(4) Nordbahnhof
Several “ghost stations” were throughout Berlin’s underground
transportation system during the Cold War.
Ghost stations were, in essence, stations throughout the U-bahn and S-bahn
networks that laid in East Berlin.
Because of the Berlin Wall’s jagged disposition, sections of an S-bahn’s
line would occasionally stray under parts of East Berlin. Nordbahnhof
was one of these stations that held particular importance. Today, it still functions as a main station
for both Berlin’s busy S2 and S5 lines.
There are, however, Berliners that aren’t even aware of the significance
of the S-bahn station, Nordbahnhof.
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| East German guard patrols ghost station |
Although not a highly advertised attraction, today there are placards
throughout tunnels of the Nordbahnhof
station that tell the story of the many who tried escaping to the West.
I particularly remember reading the story of
several East German men, in their early 20’s, who attempted escape to the
West. They crawled through a small
opening that went underground and hid in the tunnels awaiting a train coming
from the West. While their intention was to jump upon the
train and ride it back into the West, East German guards discovered their whereabouts
in the tunnels. The men were all shot
and their escape plan had failed. As a
result, the GDR government stepped up their efforts to board up any openings to
any underground passageway, in attempt to prevent future defectors. It’s stories like these and many other
forgotten fates that made my daily ride through Nordbahnhof to be a surreal, yet somber one.
(5) German Resistance Museum (Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand)
Free of charge, the German Resistance Museum is a must-see in
Berlin. While the majority of the museum
is comprised of heroic stories of those who opposed the Nazis from within, you
can also find the stories of resistance in East Germany during the Cold
War. The museum’s purpose is to document the resistance to National Socialism;
full of heroic stories that are unknown to many. The museum extensively documents the stories
ranging from the underground resistance of both Hans and Sophie Scholl at the
University of Munich to the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the pastor imprisoned
and executed for his staunch resistance to Hitler.
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| Stauffenberg |
While walking throughout the museum, something I didn’t realize was the extensive anti-Hitler network within Hitler’s SS. There were countless stories of SS officers who were complicit in coups to kill the “führer”. Of these officers, the most notable might’ve been Claus von Stauffenberg, who joined other conspirators in organizing the famous “July 20th plot” to assassinate Hitler. The museum highlights his powerful response in accepting his role,
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| Pictures of SS officers involved in the extensive anti-Hitler network |
This plot ultimately came in response to the failure of four previous
SS-organized attempts to kill Hitler. Because
of his important role in the Party, Stauffenberg volunteered to infiltrate a
top-secret SS meeting at an undisclosed Nazi field headquarters. Deep in the forest of present-day Poland, a
conference took place at the “Wolf’s Lair” full of SS officers. Stauffenberg brought a briefcase of
explosives into the conference room where Hitler and more than 20 other
officers gathered. He placed the
briefcase underneath the table, where he presumed Hitler would be sitting. Colonel Heinz Brandt, the officer sitting adjacent
to Hitler, moved the briefcase away from Hitler and behind a table leg, to
create more space. This trivial action, inadvertently,
saved the life of Hitler when the explosion detonated.
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| Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) execution scene in the film "Valkyrie" |
Stauffenberg was third in line amongst the conspirators to be
executed. Around 1 am, illuminated by
the headlights of a military truck, the executions took place. When it was time for Stauffenberg to be shot,
his aid, Lieutenant Werner Von Haeften, jumped in front of him to take the
bullets. Stauffenberg’s life was
prolonged for a mere several seconds.
Right after the soldiers reloaded and aimed at Stauffenberg for a second
time, he famously yelled, “Long live our sacred Germany!”; words that are
currently engraved in a plaque next to a statue of Stauffenberg in the cobblestone
courtyard.
This very scene might also best be known by its depiction in the Tom
Cruise film, “Valkyrie”. The scene in
the movie was shot at the exact location as it took place in real life, the Benderblock
Army Headquarters.
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| Benderblock/museum courtyard with Stauffenberg's memorial in the distance |
