Reichstagsgebaude and Kanzler(in)amt

I'm packing to leave Germany right now, which means I need a distraction from the thousand important things I haven't done yet. SO I'll make it fast.

We got to go to the Reichstagsgebaude (Parliamentary Building) and witness floor discussions on an IT law.  Here is the video (according to a friend's Fbook post:

After watching the talk, we went up stairs to a big room in the CDU portion of the building.  There, we were able to ask questions to numerous party officials and technical experts in certain fields (renewable energy, for example).  The high-schoolers dominated the microphones, the questions were pretty good. Mainly asking about policy perspectives.

After the questions, the Ambassador (Emesron) and the Bundestagspraesident came and talked to us. Our ambassador was charismatic and thankful to the people in the room who secured the funding for our program to continue. He reassured everyone that he had heard positive things about the CBYX program receiving funding, but then immediately mentioned how the programs success was making it so lawmakers wanted to shift focus to other countries that need the diplomacy more.  It was an interesting little quip, and the Bundestags President, Norbert Lammert noticed it (he had a translator behind him).  The ambassador passed the microphone off:



Lammert was probably the most interesting political speaker I've listened to, because he was more passionate and off-the cuff than any other.  He started in English, "Hello all... I believe, that today I will speak in German.  German, as you know, is still the most spoken language........ in germany.  And if we are obligated to speak to our colleagues in German, I believe it is appropriate for this setting to." German.

Mr. Lammert started out with a history lesson.  First, to the 300th anniversary of German immigration in the United States and the founding of the program.  He then highlighted famous moments in German history that were the direct result of the United States.  First was Marshall plan.  Then he repeated the words Reagan, and talked about how every German knows these specific words, and perhaps that not every american does (tear down this wall).  He mentioned how many other people had said it before, and how many other famous people felt the same way, but the reason he is remembered is because it was the combination of WHO said it, WHEN they said it, HOW they said it, and WHY they said it. He talked about specific moments in history when things were uncertain and they changed faster than anyone could have imagined (1933, 1945, 1990, among other times).  After setting the stage for the history and importance of the US and German efforts, he turned to the ambassador and spoke directly to him.

Something like, "Is it not alarming..." that Germany, with it's smaller GDP and smaller budget, can afford to double the expenditure on the CBYX program, while the US can no longer afford to keep it?  In the most blunt and beautiful German way, he did not mince words or sugar coat some of his feelings on the current political situation.  He was optimistic and understanding of US politics- but ultimately he gave out some harsh criticism.  It was interesting to see the interaction of official representatives of government that wasn't extremely scripted and flowery.

After the talk, we migrated across the street to the Kanzleramt- the building of the Chancellor of Germany, where the cabinet meets. It is pretty much the white house.

We waited a really long time for Angela Merkel to come:

 

We got on these stairs pointed towards a microphone.  People were losing their minds in anticipation.  You could smell the anxiety (and sweat).  When she finally walked through the door every high-schooler errupted in applause and screams. I kid you not, a section was chanting "We love you Merkel".  It was very unexpected for me, but the German politicians next to me were not. They made jokes about American stereotypes on volume control. I saw their point.

 Angela Merkel addressed us for a short few minutes.  She seemed very nice.  After a short welcome and thanks for being here 'I hope you learned' talk, one of the participants was invited to the stage.  He performed a show tune he wrote about the program.  This is it:

There is a lot to say.  But I'll just highlight that the guy had guts.

After the singing we ate and then got tours of the buildings.

  Here is the view of the Parliament building from a balcony.

And the boardroom:

After the guy explained to us all of the subtleties of the cabinet room (for example, the finance minister is directly across from the Chancellor, so that the chancellor can see his face's reactions to ideas thrown out in discussion- because the budget is important)

He then asked if we had questions.  We only had one actual German with us, and he asks "Is there a particular reason that the finance minister doesn't have a chair?"

And our tour guide looks shocked, and then smiles. "Yes, yes of course there is.  It's because he is confined to a wheelchair due to a disability" AND THAT was hilariously awkward for our dear German colleague.

Here is the art example:

They have a semi-museum of gifts the Chancellor has received. I think the one shown is the speech card for "Ich bin ein Berliner". Perhaps it was a reproduction, but nonetheless it was an official gift from our state.

 For New Years Eve one year, the German government invited every kid who lost parents during September 11th to Germany as a way of maybe helping them be distracted from reminders of their loss.  They did art projects and had a sleepover in the Kanzleramt Building. (*I did have trouble understanding the old lady who told us this, but my friend confirmed it was something to this effect). Here is art that the children made during this time:

 And here is the front of the building:

End of Work

Last day of work is Friday.  I am wrapping up my project.  I got a little bit carried away rendering:

It's a pass-through from a clean room to dirty room. It takes high pressure steam and melts bacteria. Theoretically.

It is really just in the mechanical concept phase- other future interns will work the idea more.

Botschaft Berlin

On Thursday we went to the US Embassy in Berlin and met the ambassador John Emerson (father of actress in Hunger Games, we found out) and a lot of the staff there.

View from the Embassy entrance:

~Side note: the horses on the gate symbolize when Germany was united from 4 kingdoms.  When the gate was on the Eastern side, the Soviets turned the butts of the horses to the West.

This embassy is the only Embassy of the US that is on a public street.  As a result of Embassy bombings of the 90s, all US embassies had to be renovated or built new for defense (hence the London Embassy actually has a moat around it).  The Berlin Embassy, however, was fought for and allowed to bend some of the rules given the history of US German relations, the history of Berlin, and the location of the Embassy.

On American Soil again:

The event for the day was geared for the 250 high school members of the CBYX program.  The agenda had a lot of "how excited are you?!?!" moments and reasons for the youth to scream and be joyous. Us old "Young Professionals" flocked towards the doughnut table and made a protective ring against the high-schoolers.  Not really, but kind of.

We eventually mingled:

And I met the 2 other Abq residents on the program! One goes to the CEC near AHS, and the other to Cibola.  We talked about food as long as we could.  Then we met all the people placed in Saarland:

And then they released the sheep-dogs:

And then the speakers came and PUMPED THE CROWD UP!!! Ambassador Emerson is a personable and funny guy.  The most serious moment was when he reminded them that they were on american soil and couldn't drink beer anymore.

After a short talk the entertainment was brought on- an A Capella group out of Harvard.  They were good- one girl was fantastic.  She sang "Mac the Knife" while old men cried and young students learned the feeling of love.  This isn't the song or the particular singer with the pipes, but it gives you an idea:



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Later that evening (or another... the timeline is hazy now) we went to a performance piece with the Young Professional group (normal group).  It was definitely at night. And it was definitely not American-High-Schooler-Appropriate in the typical definition of that.

 

 The show was so awesome.  They choreographed interesting dance and acrobatic to edgy-electronic music and a very cool light show.  The lights would 'trace' the dancers and performers, adding to the craziness of their acts of talent.  I don't have the mastery of words to begin to describe the things we saw there.  Here is a video that is the 'tip of the dance iceberg' we experienced:

Example of light thing. This guy rolling around and Tron happening live around him.

Berlining

"Emperor Wilhelm's Memorial Church (Berlin, Germany)" by Unknown - Original image: Photochrom print (color photo lithograph) Reproduction number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-00341 from Library of Congress

Wednesday was full conference day with my program.  We spent a lot of time in a conference room talking about individual experiences and giving feedback to the program.  The conference happened to be by the destroyed Kaiser Wilhelm I church, which is now the current Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.

The foyer to the old church is still preserved and has information of the history of the building.  The plaza surrounding the church has the new church, which has aspects that encircle the old memorial.

The new church has walls completely made of glass, which was very pretty:

After the conference and looking at the church, Sam, my friend Katie, and I met up with Will to go check out Tempelhofer airfield.  I'll tell this story in reverse:

     The Tempelhofer Feld is now a giant park for Berlin residents.  The old abandoned airstrips provide the perfect surface for roller-blading, kite-surfing with skateboards, bike-racing, barbecue, art, and general recreation. Like kite flying (please watch):

At one point the airfield became to small for modern air-travel and was going to be turned over for development.  But the people of Berlin fought and were able to make it a public space with only limited development.

For decades Tempelhofer was an important airport of Germany (First West Germany) for recreational travel. But is most famous for its role in the "Berlin Air Drop" or the "Berlin Air Bridge" which allowed the allied forces to fly supplies into Berlin after the USSR blockaded West Berlin.  During this time,a plane landed or took off from 1 of 3 Berlin airports around every 30 seconds (1000 per day) to supply the city with food and supplies.  At Tempelhof, 4,500 tons of supplies could be delivered in a day. It was an incredible feat of planning and timing to make the operation possible- Read about it!

--- Timeline Jump to Conception ---

The Tempelhofer airport was originally built but never completely finished by the Nazis.  It was supposed to be part of a much larger section of the city that would fit into the ideal architecture of their time.

The Tempelhofer airport was also the location of a Gestapo Prison / Labor Camp (the third one to be built at this time - 1933) and an SS Concentration camp- the only of which that was in Berlin.  The facility had existed during the Weimar republic but was closed due to disrepair; the rapid need for detention centers caused by political arrests in the first year of power caused the NS regime to re-open it.

From 1934-1936 it served primarily as a concentration camp, rather than just a political prison.  Its proximity to Berlin made it a particularly horrible place, as SS guards used opportunities to 'prove their loyalty' by inflicting harm on the prisoners.  In 1938 it was closed to make room for expansions to the airport.  No one associated with the Gestapo prison and SS concentration camp was ever prosecuted for their crimes against humanity.  Source: http://www.thf-berlin.de/

Berlin 1

After driving to Porto, we got to our accommodation and watched the European Soccer Final.  Barcelona won and it was a great game.  After some bonding time with mosquitoes and sleeping in temperatures reaching roughly "sauna", we left our place for some breakfast and beach time.

Russell really wanted to see this architectural masterpiece on a certain beach.  It was supposed to be pools that were naturally filled by the tide, but instead it was an abandoned cement pit with no water:(  We kept our spirits up and enjoyed the morning:

Porto ----------------> Berlin

We traveled directly from the airport to meet up with Joana and my friend Sam at the Reichtags building.  Sam had already visited once before, so only us four did the tour of the building (parliamentary building).

Everything looked nice at sunset:

We synchronized our audio guides and wandered about the roof and the giant glass dome:

That is, after we synchronized some more:


The building was designed by Norman Foster and is very futuristic.  The dome focuses the natural light through the mirrors into the plenary below.  There is also a giant shade that rotates with the sun in order to minimize glare.  The idea is that the building is all about government transparency:

The roof of the building is open to atmosphere and whisks away the hot air. It also collects rainwater:

The mirrors and seats of the parliament:

The shade:

After the tour we met up again with Sam and ventured for beer and beds.

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In the morning, after an absolute feast prepared by Joanna and Sam, we went to go check out the Berlin Wall.  There are a lot of outdoor and interactive exhibits for tourists:

Sam Learns

At first, you walk along a ruined section of the wall:

And then you come upon a section where the inner and outer walls are enclosed so that you cannot enter, but at least you can look thought the cracks:

All along the wall, there are metal plates with information about the people who either escaped to the west over the wall or died trying.  This one says the date and location that one person made it over:

Others included names, if known, or other information as possible.

From an observation tower across the street at the museum, you can look into the walled off section.  This section is preserved exactly as it was during its use. You can see the first wall, the signal fence, the guard tower, and lastly the wall into west Germany.

After more walking and bus rides we headed to the East Side Gallery- site of the most famous graffiti:

This installation was made in 1990 but sadly people have really really really grafitti'd over everything.  Important messages like "2015 Summer Hell Yeah" and "Jane loves Bob" and "Capitalist Fart" have been written over everything.  Rant aside, it is still cool:

Actually Rant back on- I really can't believe how stupid and self-centered people are. I saw several people walk up to write on the wall stupid messages just so they could pose (duck-face) and take a picture with them.  I don't get it! Why?! You're not a model, you didn't contribute to art, and your one minute of fame/acknowledgment from your friends on Instagram is NOT IMPORTANT. Both Genders- everybody thinks they are important now.  I feel like an old man getting irritated by it, but it's just craziness.  You don't have to worship the place, but at least don't forever change it so the people after you can't experience it- who are you to make that decision? AHHHHHH  I saw an older couple tag (and selfie) on a part of the wall right next to a sign reminding people that this was a memorial to a humanitarian and political crisis that killed people and caused immense strife. I was speechless. I thought they were old enough to escape the clutches of instagram narcissism nooooooooooooooo


Picture:

We walked to the Berlin Cathedral, Lustgarten, and the Museem Island:

Siegfried takes out that dragon:

Cathedral was super expensive so we didn't go inside...

Museums:

And then we happened upon this memorial:

"Neue Wache

Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Victims of War and Tyranny

'The Neue Wache is the place

Where we commemorate the victims

Of War and Tyranny

We honour the memory of the peoples who suffered through war.

We remember their citizens who were persecuted and who lost their lives.

We remember those killed in action in the world wars.

We remember the innocent who lost their lives as a result of war

in their homeland, in captivity and through expulsion.

We remember the millions of Jews who were murdered.

We remember the Sinti and Roma who were murdered.

We remember all those who were killed because of their origin, homosexuality, sickness or infirmity.

We remember all who were murdered whose right to life was denied.

We remember the people who had to die because of their religious or political convictions.

We remember all those who were victims of tyranny and met their death, though innocent.

We remember the women and men who sacrificed their lives in resistance to despotic rule.

We honour all who preferred to die rather than act against their conscience.

We honour the memory of the women and men who were persecuted and murdered

because they resisted totalitarian dictatorship after 1945.'

"The neue Wache (New Guardhouse) was built in the years 1816 to 1818 on behalf of the Prussian King, Frederick William III [...]

In 1931 The Prussian Government had the guardhouse redesigned. Heinrich Tessenow created a "Memorial to those who fell in the World War." [...]

From 1960 the Restored building served the GDR as a "Memorial to the victims of Fascism and Militarism". In 1969 an eternal flame was lit in the middle of the room.

In 1969 the mortal remains of an unknown soldier and an unknown concentration camp prisoner were laid to rest here. They are surrounded by earth from the battlefields of the second world war and from concentration camps.

Since 1993 the Neue Wache has served as the central memorial of the federal republic of Germany.

The Interior design from the time of the Weimar Republic was largely restored. An enlarged replica of the sculpture by Kathe Kollwitz known as "Mother with her dead son" stands in the centre of the memorial. [...]"

The memorial was somewhat unexpected and we spent some quite minutes inside.

As we walked out, we decided to head to Humbolt University.  In front of Humbolt, we came upon a tour that was explaining how we were standing on the site of the famous NS book burning.  The memorial for the burned books is underground, and symbolizes the knowledge and heritage lost by this heinous act.  I also heard the the tour guide quote a scholar/author named Kaestner with (translation by self) "Any people that burns books will  find themselves burning men".

I tried to find that quote for 5 minutes and couldn't turn anything up... I may have misheard?

from website "placetobe'

Memorial. Photo Aaron Siirila

We pressed on walking through Berlin.

We stopped at a beer house and got some drinks to refuel. Than on-wards:



After putting it off until 4 pm, we decided to get lunch. We jumped into a little Doener Kebab Sandwich place that turned out to be famous!  Merkel and other politicians are frequent visitors, as seen on the wall:

After our delicious lamb sandwiches, we went to the 'memorial for victims of the holocaust'

According to Sam, the memorial is supposed to take you from normal life into isolation. The narrow paths separate you from friends and contact, and you can get lost. As you go in, it gets deeper, but there is always light at the very end, symbolizing the hope that people kept with them.

Checkpoint Charlie was a little bit of underwhelming- but nonetheless interesting to see. It's hard to imagine what life in isolated West Berlin was really like.

We then thought we would go to the Topography of Terror museum, a museum dedicated to the history of the NS police force, the Gestapo, and the SS.  On the way in, they had a timeline of the Nazi Party that stretched a long the street.  It ended up taking us an hour to read because it was so unbelievably difficult to comprehend what happened. As Will put it, we are used to only ever hearing about specific events or details of the atrocity. It was completely different to see how quickly they all happened and which ones happened at the same time and which ones built on little injustices.  The NS political machine is truly frightening.

I don't think that I am capable, through this blog or my writing, of explaining what it is like to be near evil history like that associated with the NS party.  The surroundings of the museums, the exhibits, and perhaps parallels in modern day make it impossible to not empathize and feel depressed.  And what made it even harder were the countless stories of instrumental parts of the machine (the man who invented the gas chambers, murderers, judges, 'catchers', etc.) who received little to no punishment after the war.

From this point I broke up with the brothers to attend my conference with my program.  They continued on to more buildings and museums.