Today is a travel day, taking the train from Berlin to Warsaw, a ride of about 6 hours. Our compartment (for the six of us) was comfortable and our 9 cases of luggage plus assorted carry bags actually fit in the overhead shelves. We ate in shifts, so that someone always remained in the compartment with our luggage. Judy Katz and I had lunch in the dining car, sharing a table with a delightful young man from Warsaw who is an importer of high-end teas and coffees from Germany to Poland. He taught us some basic Polish (like "thank you") and made suggestions for dinner this evening.
Leaving from the Berlin train station was easy. Signs were clear and all platforms were marked well. Arriving in the Warsaw Central train station was another story. Most of the escalators were not running (we had arrived on an underground platform) and those that did run all went down to lower level platforms. We found the elevator (with large handicapped symbol), but it did not run either. We ended up carrying our bags up to street level. Only one person tried to help us, but he sent us to the Central Hall and the Visitors Booth - which we discovered was on the street level that we couldn't reach.
We don't formally meet up with the Melton Group until tomorrow, but ran into a bunch of old Melton friends in the lobby of the Hilton as we checked in. A large group of us will head out to dinner together tonight. We are here for the next four nights and are pleased to have a lovely room with views of the city (and lots of construction and cranes).
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Saturday, August 25, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Friday, 8/24/12 Berlin
Today is our last full day in Berlin - leaving tomorrow morning by train for Warsaw, Poland. We had a new driver/guide for our trip to Potsdam and what a wild ride it turned out to be! After all the good feelings we've been having about Berliners (mostly due to the wonderful experience of spending two days with our guide Billie Pitkie), today we saw a different side of Berlin.
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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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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Thursday, August 23, 2012
Thursday, 8/23/12 Berlin
Today was another full day of touring with Billie Pitkie in Berlin. The four of us (Birkens and Poleshucks) appreciated Billie even more today (and we thought she was great yesterday). We began the day with a stop to see the Reichstag, Berlin's parliamentary building. Built in 1894, it was destroyed during WW II and was not rebuilt until after German reunification in 1990. The reconstruction was completed in 1999, when it once again housed the German parliament.
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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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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Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Wednesday 8/22/12 Berlin
This is our second full day in Berlin and we had a guided tour with a wonderful, sensitive, knowledgeable woman named Billie Pittke. Billie is an art historian and expert on Berlin who was contracted through our wonderful Rochester travel agent, Judy Shafer. We began our tour in the Gendarmenmarkt right next to our hotel. "Gendarmen" means police and "markt" of course is market. They only have markets there in the present time at Christmas, but it once was a market square. Here we see the Music Hall we toured yesterday, flanked on either side by domed churches, one German Lutheran, the other French Huguenot. This plaza is located in the former East Berlin area and almost all the buildings in the area were destroyed by Allied bombing raids, but have now been restored.
From there we went to Babelplatz (the former Opernplatz or site of the Royal Opera) where we saw Forum Frediricianum - Frederic the Great's Forum of the Arts. Many of the buildings now are used by Humboldt University. The Forum, planned as a center of science and arts, is the Platz or Plaza where the Nazis did the infamous book burning of May 10, 1933. We stood beside, and then on, Micha Ullman's memorial to the event - "Empty Library." It consists of an underground sealed room which contains empty shelves that can be viewed from above through a glass pane. One can stand on it and through the scratched and dirty glass barely make out the empty shelves while thinking about the fragility of freedom of speech.
After driving through more of East Berlin, we stop at the Pergamon Museum to see the reconstructed historic Pergamon Alter and Gate of Miletus from Turkey and the reconstructed Ishtar Gate and Processional Way, originally built by Nebukadnezzer II in the 6th century BCE at the entrance to the city of Babylon.
Final stop before lunch is at the Berlin Wall. A portion of the wall has been left standing and internationally recognized artists were invited to decorate it.
After lunch we see the former site of Hitler's Imperial Chancellery and the park in front of it where Peter Eisenmann constructed the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe" which Eric and I had visited yesterday. A second viewing and an in depth discussion with Billie about how children should behave in the monument (and what the artist intended for that behavior to be) leave me still conflicted, but more accepting of the children's behavior.
Next stop is the Brandenburg Gate in Pariser Platz
and the remarkable architecture of Frank Gehry's DZ bank building
We end the day with a trip to one of the newer museums and outdoor displays - "The Topography of Terror." Built on the site of the Gestapo headquarters, the outdoor exhibit, created in front of a portion of the Berlin Wall, is a timeline of Nazi oppression.
The indoor museum recounts the Nazi horrors, with a section devoted to each group that was persecuted - the Jews, the gypsies, the homosexuals, the mentally and physically impaired, etc. It has been an exhausting day, and this is a mentally and physically challenging way to end it. I wouldn't have left a single thing out, but I can't take it all in either! It's too much death, too much persecution, too much evil.
To switch up our moods, dinner turns out to be a lovely event. In addition to the two couples with whom we came to Berlin, we make contact with another Melton couple that has been visiting Berlin - David and Barbara Mushin from Melbourne, Australia. Although the Mushins have never met us before, it's as if we are old family friends as we share a wonderful meal, wonderful stories of how are families emigrated from Eastern Europe, and how our children (and grandchildren) are continuing the lines that Hitler tried to end.
Enough for now. Tomorrow is another day with Billie, so there will be more discussion, more history, and more to tell.
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From there we went to Babelplatz (the former Opernplatz or site of the Royal Opera) where we saw Forum Frediricianum - Frederic the Great's Forum of the Arts. Many of the buildings now are used by Humboldt University. The Forum, planned as a center of science and arts, is the Platz or Plaza where the Nazis did the infamous book burning of May 10, 1933. We stood beside, and then on, Micha Ullman's memorial to the event - "Empty Library." It consists of an underground sealed room which contains empty shelves that can be viewed from above through a glass pane. One can stand on it and through the scratched and dirty glass barely make out the empty shelves while thinking about the fragility of freedom of speech.
After driving through more of East Berlin, we stop at the Pergamon Museum to see the reconstructed historic Pergamon Alter and Gate of Miletus from Turkey and the reconstructed Ishtar Gate and Processional Way, originally built by Nebukadnezzer II in the 6th century BCE at the entrance to the city of Babylon.
Final stop before lunch is at the Berlin Wall. A portion of the wall has been left standing and internationally recognized artists were invited to decorate it.
After lunch we see the former site of Hitler's Imperial Chancellery and the park in front of it where Peter Eisenmann constructed the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe" which Eric and I had visited yesterday. A second viewing and an in depth discussion with Billie about how children should behave in the monument (and what the artist intended for that behavior to be) leave me still conflicted, but more accepting of the children's behavior.
Next stop is the Brandenburg Gate in Pariser Platz
and the remarkable architecture of Frank Gehry's DZ bank building
We end the day with a trip to one of the newer museums and outdoor displays - "The Topography of Terror." Built on the site of the Gestapo headquarters, the outdoor exhibit, created in front of a portion of the Berlin Wall, is a timeline of Nazi oppression.
The indoor museum recounts the Nazi horrors, with a section devoted to each group that was persecuted - the Jews, the gypsies, the homosexuals, the mentally and physically impaired, etc. It has been an exhausting day, and this is a mentally and physically challenging way to end it. I wouldn't have left a single thing out, but I can't take it all in either! It's too much death, too much persecution, too much evil.
To switch up our moods, dinner turns out to be a lovely event. In addition to the two couples with whom we came to Berlin, we make contact with another Melton couple that has been visiting Berlin - David and Barbara Mushin from Melbourne, Australia. Although the Mushins have never met us before, it's as if we are old family friends as we share a wonderful meal, wonderful stories of how are families emigrated from Eastern Europe, and how our children (and grandchildren) are continuing the lines that Hitler tried to end.
Enough for now. Tomorrow is another day with Billie, so there will be more discussion, more history, and more to tell.
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Tuesday 8/21/12 Berlin
Hello from Berlin!
After multiple hassles with our tickets, we finally got our bags and ourselves to Berlin early this morning. Since we booked our original tickets on Continental, which is now United, nothing was working right at the airport. But with great patience and persistance, the 4 ticketing agents behind the counter managed to get us converted over to the United system. Uneventful flight - although quite turbulent.
Slept for a few hours this morning and then off to stroll around the local area of our hotel. Took a tour of a classical music hall that reminds us very much of Eastman Theater back home - can't tell you the name or who plays there because the tour guide refused to answer any questions in English, despite there being 7 English speakers in the group of 20.
The guide's English was perfect, but all he would tell us in English was to pick up the English brochure on our way out. Off now to do some more walking and then dinner with the Katz's and Poleshucks - and any other Melton participants we happen to find in Berlin.
We ended up walking to the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe." We will be going there again, either Wed. or Thurs. with our guide, Billie, so we did not go into the underground museum. Mixed emotions being there - children playing hide and seek among the cement stellae; young men junping from block to block, despite signs saying that it is forbidden to do that; and a long line of Germans and tourists waiting to go into the underground museum.
After multiple hassles with our tickets, we finally got our bags and ourselves to Berlin early this morning. Since we booked our original tickets on Continental, which is now United, nothing was working right at the airport. But with great patience and persistance, the 4 ticketing agents behind the counter managed to get us converted over to the United system. Uneventful flight - although quite turbulent.
Slept for a few hours this morning and then off to stroll around the local area of our hotel. Took a tour of a classical music hall that reminds us very much of Eastman Theater back home - can't tell you the name or who plays there because the tour guide refused to answer any questions in English, despite there being 7 English speakers in the group of 20.
The guide's English was perfect, but all he would tell us in English was to pick up the English brochure on our way out. Off now to do some more walking and then dinner with the Katz's and Poleshucks - and any other Melton participants we happen to find in Berlin.
We ended up walking to the "Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe." We will be going there again, either Wed. or Thurs. with our guide, Billie, so we did not go into the underground museum. Mixed emotions being there - children playing hide and seek among the cement stellae; young men junping from block to block, despite signs saying that it is forbidden to do that; and a long line of Germans and tourists waiting to go into the underground museum.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Pre-Trip Thoughts
Prior to the Trip: Friday, August 17, 2012
On Monday, August 20, 2012, Eric and I will leave for Berlin. Berlin is the pre-trip to our Poland-Israel Seminar with Melton (The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School of Hebrew University). It will be an emotional trip for both of us, as our families come from the area known as the Second Polish Republic (so called after World War I). This was a region of constantly shifting borders that included or was culturally linked to:
- Przemsyl, Poland (ancestry of Eric's father)
- Vilna, Lithuania (ancestry of my father's family)
- Ostropol (or Ostropolia), Ukraine (ancestry of my mother's family)
The constantly shifting borders of this region (Austria-Hungary, Poland, Germany, Russia) make it difficult to say exactly where one's family heritage originated. We have always said Eric's family came from Poland (father's side) and Romania or Austria (mother's side) and my family came from Russia (mother's side) and Lithuania (father's side). As Eric and I have been reading, watching DVDs, and pouring over maps in preparation for this trip, we realize how little we know of the geography, politics, and cultural history of Eastern Europe and our families.
Our parents did not talk about where their parents came from, probably because their parents would not talk about it. Life had been tough and probably very cruel to our grandparents and they considered the US a new start that negated the hardships they had endured. Becoming American meant forgetting the Old Country.
To explain the objectives of this trip, I will quote from the leader of this trip, Haim Aronovitz, Director of Florence Melton Israel Seminars. He says this trip will be
Eric and I would not undertake this trip without the leadership and teaching that we know Haim will provide. He is a master teacher, a brilliant historian, and a wonderful friend. The pre-trip to Berlin will be with Joyce and Victor Poleshuck and Judy and Sheldon Katz, friends from previous Melton trips and co-participants on the Poland-Israel Seminar. We've arranged tours of Jewish Berlin along with time to explore the city on our own.
I will write again when the trip begins.
Adding a map to show where our families came from and the shifting boundaries. Click on the map to enlarge it. I've boxed in Vilna, Przemsyl, and Ostropol.
On Monday, August 20, 2012, Eric and I will leave for Berlin. Berlin is the pre-trip to our Poland-Israel Seminar with Melton (The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School of Hebrew University). It will be an emotional trip for both of us, as our families come from the area known as the Second Polish Republic (so called after World War I). This was a region of constantly shifting borders that included or was culturally linked to:
- Przemsyl, Poland (ancestry of Eric's father)
- Vilna, Lithuania (ancestry of my father's family)
- Ostropol (or Ostropolia), Ukraine (ancestry of my mother's family)
The constantly shifting borders of this region (Austria-Hungary, Poland, Germany, Russia) make it difficult to say exactly where one's family heritage originated. We have always said Eric's family came from Poland (father's side) and Romania or Austria (mother's side) and my family came from Russia (mother's side) and Lithuania (father's side). As Eric and I have been reading, watching DVDs, and pouring over maps in preparation for this trip, we realize how little we know of the geography, politics, and cultural history of Eastern Europe and our families.
Our parents did not talk about where their parents came from, probably because their parents would not talk about it. Life had been tough and probably very cruel to our grandparents and they considered the US a new start that negated the hardships they had endured. Becoming American meant forgetting the Old Country.
To explain the objectives of this trip, I will quote from the leader of this trip, Haim Aronovitz, Director of Florence Melton Israel Seminars. He says this trip will be
. . . a journey to Poland and Israel which will allow for a deep exposure to the Polish Jewish community over a thousand years, culminating in the terrible Shoah period and present-day efforts at resuscitation, and then continuing to look at the pivotal contribution of that community to the Yishuv and then the State of Israel. Our aim is by no means to undertake a Shoah-based journey, although the Shoah is central to the modern Polish story, for Jew and non-Jew alike. Instead, we shall focus on the enormous creativity that marked Polish Jewry in almost every sphere of Jewish life, including culture, theology, economics, and ideology. We will be based in Warsaw and in Krakow, with field excursion from those two cities in Poland.
Eric and I would not undertake this trip without the leadership and teaching that we know Haim will provide. He is a master teacher, a brilliant historian, and a wonderful friend. The pre-trip to Berlin will be with Joyce and Victor Poleshuck and Judy and Sheldon Katz, friends from previous Melton trips and co-participants on the Poland-Israel Seminar. We've arranged tours of Jewish Berlin along with time to explore the city on our own.
I will write again when the trip begins.
Adding a map to show where our families came from and the shifting boundaries. Click on the map to enlarge it. I've boxed in Vilna, Przemsyl, and Ostropol.
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