Berlin Walking Tour Notes- Bullet points

Brandenburger Tor/Pariser Platz



Let's have fun



·         The beautiful Brandenburg gate  



finished 1791 - one of 18 entry gates to the city- Only Royalty would pass through the gate during processions - beautiful quadriga - in 1806 small guy big ego Napoleon saw it and fell in love, took it back to Paris - 8 years later Prussia defeats France, takes back quadriga, redisigns it, Goddess of peace Eirene is now Goddess of Victory, Victoria - Prussian eagle, Iron Cross and Oak wreath on her lance...



·         Pariser Platz/ Adlon



This is Pariser Platz - US embassy- Arts Academy- French Embassy - Hotel Adlon - Most exclusive and expensive - VIP, Presidents and Royalty-  Most expensive room, how much? - 20000 Euro per night, not including breakfast, including butler, tell him to get breakfast- 2002 Micheal Jackson held his baby out the window



·         Where is Goddess looking? French Embassy 'I am watching you' ...German sense of humour - Pariser platz 'Germany is surrounding you'


Any questions?
·         Let's now move ahead and learn a little bit about German history



Reichtag

·         Reichstag- Present meeting place of the German parliament- Beautiful glass dome you can visit for free daily till 10pm, but you need to book in advance online- White shed on the left, take your passport and check for cancellations

·         German history - 1200 AD germanic tribes- peaceful trade - ruled by different kings/dynasties till Prussian empire 1701 -Friedrich the great - who made Berlin an important and strong capital of Europe- we will see examples of his work- 1871 German reunification with elected Parliament under Otto von Bismark, officially for the first time as 'Germany' - 1900's...Germany one of the strongest powers in the world

·          World War I - 2 million Germans died- Treaty of Versailles - Germany forced to Disarm and Pay war reparations 132 billion marks (442 billion dollars today) - Inflation - 4 DM = 1 dollar, becomes 4 billion DM = 1 dollar- America helps out with loans and investments, as do other countries - Golden twenties - 1929 NY stock market crash - America takes away investments - Inflation again - People are starving

·         1933 Hitler is Chancellor - Right wing to be Nazi party, left wing communists - Reichstag fire- blames on communists - state of Emergency - President Hindenburg gives him powers to enact laws without parliament - sets stage for Nazi party - totalitarian dictatorship- Hitler becomes ruler of Germany- 1939 WWII- 70 million dead- 1945 - Germany loses the war



·         Let's see how Germany remembers its victims / Let's see an important location having something to do with the WWII



Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe 

·         Holocaust Memorial / Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe - how many died? - 6 million, only due to their faith - Berlin population today is 3.5 million, so almost double!- I want you to have an experience of it...

·         What do we feel? Claustrophobia/pensive...feels like a cemetery/tombstones etc - inaugurated May 2005 - American Jewish Architect Peter Eisenmann - No names, numbers, star of David engraved- he wanted people to ask questions - 2711 slabs for every community- Inspiration Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague- lack of space- people buried on top of each other 12 metres high -

·         Other memorials nearby - Roma and Sinti people, homosexuals - T4 euthanasia program - Tiergarten strasse 4/house number 4 - any incurable mental and physical disability and the elderly killed - mothers giving away babies to the authorities

·         Entrance to the information centre under our feet - names from Yad Vashem- concentrate on personal stories of extermination and persecution - postcards and letters people threw from trains as they were on their way to their death -Open every day till 8pm, except Monday



·         Statement by the German Government- memorial so close to the Reichtag, bigger in area, greenery all around.

·         This is how Germany remembers the victims of the WWII. Let's go to the place where the war ended.



Hitler's Bunker

·         Creepy car park - in fact, 12 m below us, is Hitler's Bunker - 2 floors, 3 m thick reinforced concrete - Built to hide airstrikes by the allies - March 20 1945 last public appearance - April 1945 battle of Berlin - Soviet forces attack Berlin on all sides - German forces depleted - Red Army at DB building - Potsdamer platz (one block away)- Officials: 'Hitler, we lost, 14 year old boys fighting on the frontlines, give up' -

·         Hitler decides to get married - wedding gift, cyanide pill - April 30, 3:30 pm, after a full tummy on vegetarian lunch- takes her to the sitting room, sit on sofa- both take the pill - he also shoots himself in the head.

·         Bodies are taken outside, wrapped in blankets, doused with petrol, set on fire - Whoever is left in the Bunker commits suicide or runs away.

·         Russians find the bodies, identify Hitler by his dental records. Take the bodies to Russia.

·         Nothing can ever be built on this area

·         Why is there no memorial here? They do not want a place for Hitler supporters to visit. The government has done this on purpose, a commendable treatment of perpetrators vs. victims (memorials to them)

·         Russia 1970 - Admit they have the body, burn to complete ashes, throw them in the River Alba nearby - However, his teeth are still hidden in the basement of the Kremlin in Moscow

·         Sandpit - There is no access to the bunkers. The soviets excavated them, took pictures, filled them up with cement and sealed them. But, if you dig 12 meters here, you will find a big metal door. That is the entrance.

·         Only 3 buildings survived the war. We are going now to see one of them.



Mall of Berlin

·         One of the biggest malls in Europe, the biggest in Berlin. (270 shops)



Korean Embassy

·         Not an official part of the tour - don't tell my boss

·         Here is the Embassy of North Korea. How many of you have an Embassy of North Korea in your country?

·         Germany is the third biggest exporter of weapons after the USA and China.

What are they planning for us?



Luftwaffe

·         Between 1940-45, Berlin suffered more than 350 Airstrikes by the Allies (USA, UK and France) and the Soviets. The city was levelled. There was only rubble.This is one of the three buildings to survive the war, because these three buildings formed a triangle so bombers used it as a landmark.

·         It was built during the Nazi regime. Due to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not allowed to form an army -- this was heavily monitored. They found a loophole, calling it 'Ministry of Transport by Air' or 'Aviation Ministry'. But we all know that they were not transporting rainbows and chocolate. It was, in fact, the Air Force, or the Luftwaffe.

·         After World War II, the Soviets took over, and this building was made the Headquarters for the GDR or the 'House of Ministries'. It is a puppet government and all orders come from Moscow.

·         They wanted to accelerate the 'construction of Socialism'. One of the things they did was this mural in 1952 It is a positive depiction of communism - 'I want to be a communist, Yay!'. But, in fact, the situation of the people was miserable. What little money the government had, went into the military. Standard of living declined, increasing poverty, there was no social welfare, insurance or pensions, and very few doctors.

·         17 June 1953, 2000 people took to the streets, marching towards the House of Ministries in peaceful protest, asking for a change, for the present government to step down, and free elections. The Soviets violently suppressed the protesters, sealing off streets and bringing in tanks. 55 people died and more than 400 were arrested, This was the last uprising in Berlin against the Soviets/GDR.

·         The artist wanted this blown up, pixellated photo that was taken on the day of the uprising to be the same size as the mural, to show the disparity between the what was proposed here and what the reality was.

·         This is an example of Totalitarian architecture. It is meant to be imposing. It's use of colour and size is meant to make you feel small. This building is still used today, and is said to be scarier than it was before, as it is the Tax Offices.

·         Does everyone have their passports and documents? We are heading to West Berlin.



Berlin Wall / Topography of Terrors

·         End of the WWII, 1945 - Germany is split between the Allies and the Soviet Union, into the 'Capitalist West' and 'Communist East' Berlin- Berlin is the capital of BOTH- People went from the East to the West Berlin for work, food, family - loophole in the system - life was worse after 1953 uprising -3.5 million defected to west Berlin, out of East Germany- Brain drain -

·         Overnight, by early 13th August 1961, 20,000 soldiers put up the wall 166km - circle around West Berlin- communication cut off, no more free movement- two walls parallel - in between Death Strip - 166watch towers, sand (footprints), guard dogs, trip wires machine guns, landmines, flood lights - guards incentive, one free paid vacation day for every person shot

·         Safest escape? - Yes, tunnels - 5000 people (including guards) escape safely with tunnels - also, sewers, bribing, fake documents, driving car through weak barricade, zip lining, acrobat on high tension wire, etc, - favourite? Hot air balloon- two families, 4 adults, 4 kids, built an engine and stitched cloth together to make balloon- were allowed to pass because guards impressed-

·         However 171-200 people died trying to get across.

·         Wall finally comes down on November 9, 1989, when East Berlin communist party spokesman allows free passage for East Berlin to West- people break the wall- wall is pulled down- people party in the streets

·         Former Gestapo Headqarters - destroyed - prison where they tortured and killed opposition- open air exhibition- Topography of Terrors Museum instead - details and names the perpetrators and their atrocities- video and audio also - hard, but worth it - Free, open till 8pm every day, even Monday - one of the only museums open on Monday.

·         We are heading towards Checkpoint Charlie, but before that, for our well deserved break where we can take a toilet break and grab some tea



Trabant Car 

·         One of the most common, and one of the only type of car in East Berlin- thousands of them drove to West after the wall came down.

Parallel Berlin Wall lines 

·         Anywhere you see these two parallel lines, is the former Berlin wall

·         We are going to Check point Charlie in 1 minute- Highly touristic area- lots of pickpockets- keep your stuff safe - ready? let's go



Checkpoint Charlie 

·         Who is Charlie? - Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Sheen? - Phonetic Alphabet - the one of 13 checkpoints- only one where military, diplomats AND  foreigners could enter

·         WWIII almost - October 22 1961 - 8pm, diplomat in tuxedo wants to go to opera - no proper documents - comes back an hour later with a tank - soviets bring 10 - he gets 9 more- stand off- no shots fired - after frantic behind the scenes negotiations - 16 hours - peaceful resolution - go home have a beer

·         This whole area is fake, built for tourists - nothing remains of the original checkpoint - those soldiers are actors

·         We now move to the most beautiful part of Berlin

·         Who likes chocolate? We will make a special stop.



Chocolatier Fassbender and Rausch

·         Best chocolatier in Berlin - has an upstairs cafe and restaurant

·         come here after our next and last stop and eat

·         let's look at the sculptures of famous buildings and try to recognize them

·         It is real chocolate and my friend said he saw children lick it

·         cost of sculptures



Gendarmenmarkt

·         Welcome to the most beautiful square in Berlin

·         Friedrich the great was mainly responsible for this square - he wanted to create a great capital of Europe - how? -

·          Economic reform (lower taxes)

·         Cultural revolution - concert houses - the one over there where the diplomat in tuxedo wanted to go - white building Humbolt University - Albert Einstein - go walk around, go to the library, feel smart -

·         Religious freedom - in 1701, in France, you could only be Catholic - opened borders to over 6000 French Protestants - they brought their intelligence, skill and culture - a welcome gift - French church santioned

·         Remarkably tolerant gesture of Friedrich the Great, especially when you take it in context of today.

·         Local Berliners annoyed - whining- their own church in 1708 - 14 cm taller



Berlin Today

·         A wonderful place to live, full of diversity and tolerance. Lots of culture and beauty.



End of Tour

·         Thank you for joining me

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