Next stop was The House of World Culture (affectionately known by Berliners as "the pregnant oyster" because of its shape. This architectural marvel was a gift from the US and was designed by the American architect Hugh Stubbins, Jr. in 1957. Located in the Tiergarten, it is quite spectacular!
Next we spent time exploring the endless patterns formed by the unique architecture of the Sony Center in Potsdamer Platz. I had a ball finding all sorts of patterns:
Now the serious part of the day started. After a brief stop at Checkpoint Charlie and some revitalizing coffee, we head to the Jewish Museum of Berlin. The museum designer, Daniel Libeskind, describes the floor plan as a zig-zag line (some have interpreted it as a broken Star of David) with one straight line crossing the broken lines. Three paths cross on the lower level: the Axis of Exile, the Axis of the Holocaust, and the Axis of Continuity. There are two (very large) main exhibit rooms and one must cross through these paths and climb steep flights of stairs to reach them. Corridors tilt, narrow, and lead to sharp points and "voids" reaching up to the ceiling. The outside is clad in zinc and has sharp slashes forming the few windows. Two millennia of German Jewish history are on display, telling the entire story of the Jews in Germany from the beginning communities to the present. The Holocaust is a part of this timeline, but not the focus. This is not a museum built by Jews, nor is it necessarily for Jews. An important part of its mission is education - built by the German government to teach people about Jews in Germany.
One unnerving parts of the museum is at the end of the Axis of the Holocaust. This leads to the Holocaust Tower, a 70 foot tall silo made of bare concrete. The corridor leading up narrows and the roof becomes lower as you approach the Tower door. The Tower is not heated or cooled and the only light comes from a narrow slit in the roof. Claustrophobia does not even begin to describe the experience of being inside. Hearing the door slam behind you, hearing children outside playing but not being able to see the outside world both set the mood. Despite wanting to photograph the effect, I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
The Axis of Exile leads to the Garden of Exile, another strange and moving experience. The foundation of the outdoor "garden" is tilted and 49 pillars in a 7x7 matrix stand hollow, filled with dirt and topped with oleaster that grows high above your head. Walking through the rows and columns is precarious because of the rocky footing and sloping ground. Intriguing patterns are formed and light and greenery filter down from above you.
The permanent exhibits trace Jewish history in Germany, and with our exceptional guide, Billie, we came to understand how Jews in Germany changed over the centuries and decades. We paused for lunch after about two hours and then spent another two hours in deep discussion as we walked through the exhibits. We even discussed the current controversy in Germany over circumcision with Billie. As I said yesterday, no topic was taboo.
The day ended with a quick tour of the old Jewish quarter, including the synagogue (now just a facade remains of the old building),
the collection point at Grosse Hamburger Strasse from which 56,000 Berlin Jews were deported to Auschwitz and Theresienstadt (now marked with a sculpture of emaciated women),
the site of the old Jewish cemetary (no headstones remain), and the current Jewish Day School with heavy iron gates and guards outside and and inside.
In all, a day of deep emotion, deep thinking, and deep fatigue. The mental and physical fatigue we feel each day is unlike anything we experience at home. However, both Eric and I feel more positive about Berlin the city, Berliners in general, and German attitudes about the Nazi era than we ever expected to. It has been an eye opening, exhausting, and emotional few days.
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