The six of us (Birkens, Poleshucks, and Katzes) all went on the trip to Potsdam, the former seat of the Prussian kings and the summer residence of Frederick the Great. Our plan was to tour Sans Souci, Frederick's estate built in German Rococo style and set on a hill with terraced vineyards; visit the Cecilienhof Palace, site of the Potsdam Conference; and drive around Potsdam to see the charming architecture. We asked our driver to add on a stop at Wannsee (on the recommendation of our former guide, Billie). We accomplished these things and had quite an education on the way.
First some photos on this gray, rainy day, then more on what we felt/learned/argued about.
Sans Souci consisted of a walking audio tour, since only certain guides can give tours inside. We knew this in advance, and the audio tour was quite well done.
I was particularly intrigued by the gazebo and its ornamentation.
Frederick the Great's grave is beside the graves of his 17 dogs and is topped with an ornate marble statue that captured the morning rain.
A close up of one of the ornate Rococo statues adorning the outside of Sans
Souci.
Finally, a picture of our group at Sans Souci.
Next we went to Palais Cecilienhof, built for Crown Prince Wilhelm and his wife Cecilie from 1914-17, which purposely looks like an English Tudor country house. It is the site of the famous Potsdam Conference that took place between July 17 and August 2, 1945. Here, England, Russia, and the US decided on how to punish Germany after its unconditional surrender. They also discussed peace treaty issues, post-war order, and countering the effects of war. Churchill first represented England, but lost the election back home during the conference and was replaced by Prime Minister Attlee. President Truman represented the United States and Stalin represented Russia.
The "Big Three at the conference (before Churchill's electoral defeat):
Protocol was key at this conference. Each of the leaders entered the Palais through a separate door at the same time. Each had their own "relaxation room" and each entered and exited the conference room through a separate door. The round table in the conference room, where everyone was equal:
The outside of the Palais with a red star created in flowers:
Our final stop was at Wannsee where, on January 20, 1942, 15 senior officials of the Nazi regime met to discuss and coordinate what they called "The Final Solution of the Jewish Problem," i.e. the systematic extermination of Jews of German occupied territories. Reinhard Heydrich called the meeting and Himmler and Eichmann were among those attending. Hitler had made clear by November of 1941 that all Jews of Europe were to be transported to the Eastern Territories and then somehow executed. At Wannsee, the plan was enacted - the registration, assembly, and transport of millions of people to the death camps was planned.
The villa at Wannsee, former home of a German industrialist that became a guest house and conference center of the SS:
How did this day deteriorate? It wasn't simple, it wasn't subtle, but it was quite emotional for everyone involved - and that includes our driver/guide. I'm quite sure when he dropped us off at our hotel, he was as upset, confused, and emotionally drained as we all were. His words made us uncomfortable, and in some instances felt inflammatory, but he found our words to be confusing, and lacking in sympathy for what East Berlin endured under reunification.
I'll begin with some background. Our driver/guide was an East Berliner who had grown up under the Soviet occupation of East Berlin - we guessed his age as late forties to early fifties. He clearly been educated (or indoctrinated) under Soviet rule. His antipathy for West Berliners was palpable. Perhaps a forewarning occurred when we requested the stop at Wansee and he asked if any of us were Jewish. Somehow we didn't really see what was coming.
Repeatedly our guide suggested that he and his family had suffered under reunification, just as the Jews had suffered under the Nazis. His wife, a Communist, had lost her job after reunification and then he repeatedly told us "I lost my wife." We don't know what that means - did she die? commit suicide? divorce him? Unclear what he meant. But a number of times he told us that he understood what the Jews went through because he had suffered in the same way. When we pointed out that the parallel wasn't a true one, since the Jews all died under horrific conditions when Hitler tried to annihilate all the European Jews, he kept repeating the "party line" - the tragedy of the East Berliners under reunification with West Berlin was somehow equated to what happened to the Jews. To be fair, his understanding of English did not match his ability to speak English, and he may not have understood the points we attempted to make and we may have misinterpreted some of what he was saying because he could not express subtle ideas in English. But in the end, it was clear that in his mind, what happened to East Berlin under reunification was like what happened to the Jews. This was certainly an eye-opener for all of us! Clearly he had been taught (probably in school) that the war was about economics and that the average German only wanted a better job or economic position and had nothing personal against the Jews.
After leaving our guide, the six of us talked and talked and talked. But even that wasn't enough! We attended Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat services at the recently restored Rykestrasse Synagogue and were thrilled to see the synagogue filled with people - young, old, Russian, German, tourists, etc.
And then, as the saying goes - they tried to kill us, we've survived, let's eat!! A wonderful dinner at Amici ended the day - with us still talking about the contrast between the sensitive intellectual discussions we had over the last two days with our guide, Billie, and the rigidity and insensitivity of words from our guide today. It was an important learning experience and, perhaps, a good preparation for our journey to Poland that begins tomorrow.
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