Берлин 1992 года
Мы уже показывали много исторических снимков Берлина разных периодов, но для стремительно меняющейся немецкой столицы теперь и фотографии 1992 года кажутся "глубокой древностью", настолько всё успело поменяться за последние 20 лет.
Вот, например, как изменился вид у вокзала Фридрихшрассе с 1992-го:
Источник современного снимка
Предлагаю небольшую экскурсию по Берлину 1992-го.
ВСЁ КОИКАБЕЛЬНО
Мемориал "жертвам Берлинской стены":
When I think of East and West Berlin, I think of the Wall. In the book, one of Funder’s subjects, Julia, had a boyfriend at 16 she met at the Leipzig Fair – this was a business fair open once a year to the west, and the boyfriend was Italian. For this her mail was intercepted – she could not get a job anywhere and in trying to escape, was caught and sentenced to a prison term.
This is a memorial made by West Berlin’s citizens to those who tried to escape over the years and were shot. The first memorial “Unbekannte Kind” – an unknown child – 12 years old. He was killed May, 1969.
If they could get over the Wall, past the barbed wire, dogs and guards most (or all) had to swim across the Spey River.
You can see what was East Berlin across the river – dull and brown.
This is the old Stasi headquarters, the last place you’d want to be. They had the power of life, death, or imprisonment over you. One of the things that stuck me in Funder’s book was the number of Stasi or informers over East German citizens. In the old Soviet Union it was – I think – 1:2000 and in East Germany 1:60. When the Wall first came down it was a scandal for citizens to find out, though the files, that friends or neighbors of many years had been informing on them.
Julia was still trying to find out what happened to her boyfriend. When the Wall first came down the Stasi were using shredders so much they were burning them up – and the records of some will never be known. Julia has never found out but it is thought the Stasi killed him while in detention.
All what was East Berlin…
The Checkpoint Charlie Museum
This is an East German Trabant, or “Trabbi” People would wait 10 years to get one – made out of plastic with a smokey 2 stroke engine. I can remember leaving Dresden on the Autobahn – the Autobahns in the East looked like perfectly preserved 1939 Autobahns – I am cruising 100 mph in my little Opel – Mercedes & BMWs are flying past me like I’m standing still (you do learn lane discipline over there!) – and a LOL (that’s Little Old Lady) in a Trabbi is sputtering & smoking on the on-ramp. I made room but thought “You’re on your own….
Note the shell pock marks from WW2
…The “S-Bahn” – as famous as Chicago’s
While my German is not fluent I think this says that shortly before the end of WW2 3 young German soldiers were hanged here by the SS. (at the Friedrichstrasse S-Bahn)
Street names of Communist heroes were being changed….(hence the red line)
Brandenburg Gate – it was here that Ronald Reagan, against the advice of the state dept , gave his “tear down this wall” speech….
Unter den Linden (under the Linden (trees) ) – before WW2 this was embassy row. Like everything else in the East it looked shabby in 1992.
Potsdamer Platz ( Potsdam Square) – I think this was a death strip area before the Wall came down. It is famous for another reason…
I asked a local “Where is the Hitler Bunker?” He replied “You’re standing on top of it”
Sure enough, there was an old air vent close by. According to Funder (who was there after 1992) they dug it up shortly after here (with the construction, couldn’t decide whether to destroy it or leave it as a monument to evil – so they decided to bury it again and decide in 50 years.
On the west side – there were a lot of street venders selling old East German uniforms
…On the west side – I probably don’t have to tell you which is which – but today it is probably more blurred. After billions of Euros were spent…
Berlin is known for their Beliner Weisse – a wheat beer – with syrup. That, and outdoor cafes that are busy until 3 in the morning!
This is Berlin’s old radio tower – a city landmark.
Berlin’s Olympic stadium – this was almost alone in escaping damage from WW2 because it was intended to house German POWs after the war. It was an eerie feeling walking through here – seeing remnants of the Nazi past – including garish human cement figures in front idealizing the Nazi version of the “perfect man”.
…My Hotel – a family-run “Pension” was on the 3rd floor – price – about $50/night with breakfast – just 3 blocks off the Kurfurstendamm – Berlin’s 5th Avenue.
