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Tracing Jewish history in BerlinBerlin unveils memorial to murdered JewsBy Phyllis Steinberg
But curiosity to visit Germany six decades after the Holocaust, and the fact that the country recently dedicated its “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe” increased my interest. I flew on Lufthansa Airlines from Miami to Frankfurt to Berlin on a comfortable and pleasant flight with superior service and meals, but I must admit that I had butterflies in my stomach, when the pilot said “Welcome to Berlin” in German and then in English. I enjoyed my stay in Berlin and I would highly recommend “Milk & Honey Tours” for those wishing to discover Jewish Berlin. There is so much Jewish history in the city and Noa Lerner, co-founder of the touring company, runs an experienced and knowledgeable tour company. Her guides speak fluent English as well as other languages, and are well informed on Jewish history in Berlin. My tour guide was Thorsten Wagner,35, a Danish Christian student working on his PhD at the Technical University of Berlin. His undergraduate work was in German literature and political science with a strong interest in Judaism. So much so, that he went to Israel and volunteered for a year at ALYN, a facility for the handicapped in Jerusalem.
The visit to the Memorial is not complete without venturing below to the Education Center which traces the history of Jews in Europe and describes in detail through , interactive computer exhibits and displays, the history of the Holocaust and the murder of six million Jews in Europe.
I thought that the “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe” was the first Memorial to the Jews in Berlin, but actually there are many memorials in this city, all reflecting a desire to remember what happened in Germany during WWII. And hopefully not to repeat that horrific history.
The House of the Wannsee Conference, Memorial and Education Site located in the Wannsee section of Berlin serves as a memorial to the Jews. It was here that the Third Reich made the extermination of the Jews of Europe, the official German policy.
It was here in this beautiful mansion, that the Third Reich decided to eradicate Europe Jewry and now it stands as an educational memorial to the Holocaust.
The history of Berlin is closely linked to the history of Jewry. Today, 15 years after the reunification of Germany, Berlin is being reaccepted as a setting for Jewish life and the threads of Jewish history and culture are slowly being woven together. While I was in Berlin I stayed in two outstanding hotels, both of which, I would highly recommend for tourists visiting the city. The Hotel Adlon, located opposite the famous Brandenburg Gate stands in the heart of Berlin. The new “Memorial to the Murdered Jews” is located outside the rear entrance of the hotel. Elegant and luxurious in every way, the Adlon is the place where movie premieres are held and where the rich and famous stay. The Regent Berlin, located at the historic Gendarmenmarkt, in the historic heart of Berlin-Mitte. is walking distance to the fabulous shopping on the Friedrichstrasse. It is a perfect location to explore the city. I enjoyed the high level of personalized service and comfort at the Regent, which was formerly the Four Seasons. The restaurant, Fischers Fritz with Chef de Cuisine, Christian Lohse, serves gourmet seafood specialties that are sumptuous and elegantly served. Lufthansa Airlines flies from New York and Miami to Berlin via Frankfort. There is a synagogue in the airport in Frankfort. The airline serves kosher food if requested. I ordered vegetarian meals and thought my meals were outstanding. by Phyllis Steinberg and Berlin Tourism. For information about Milk& Honey Tours, log on to: www.milkandhoneytours.com For information on travel to Berlin, log on to: www.berlin-tourist-information.de For information on The Regent Berlin, log on to: www.regenthotels.com For information on The Hotel Adlon, log on to: www.Hotel-Adlon.de For information on Lufthansa Airlines, log on to: www.lufthansaairlines.com |
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TM
As
an American Jew, the murder of six million Jews by Hitler during World War II in
Germany kept me far away from this European capital.
My
visit to “The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe” was quite memorable. The
Memorial was designed by American architect, Peter Eisenman and is built in the
vicinity of the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin. There are 2,711
concrete stones, all of varying heights. The pavement beneath you is uneven and
as you walk through the Memorial you feel that you are lost in a giant maze.
Perhaps the symbolism here, is that this is how the Jews of Europe felt during
the Holocaust, lost in civilization.
Jewish
Berlin must include a visit to the Jewish Museum Berlin, which was finished in
2001. The building was designed by American Architect, Daniel Libeskind. The
Museum, with its unique architectural design, presents two thousand years of
Jewish history through many interactive exhibits. The building is unique and
although it is not a Holocaust museum, the Holocaust is reflected in special
places throughout the museum. 
My
guide from Milk & Honey Tours took me to the Bavarian Quarter in the area of
Schoneberg, a residential area where many Jews lived prior to the Holocaust. In
1988, the City Council held a competition among artists to design a memorial to
the Jews who had once resided in Schoneberg. Throughout the city there are
street signs. On one side is a picture, perhaps of some groceries. On the other
side of the sign it says, “Jews in Berlin are only allowed to go grocery
shopping in the afternoon between 4 and 5 p.m…July 4, 1940.” My guide explained
to me that these signs are located throughout the city as a permanent reminder
of what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust for the people living in
Schoneberg today. They see these signs in front of the stores they shop in and
when they go to the subway.
Another
moving memorial to the Jews in Berlin is located in the upscale section of
Berlin in Grunewald. In Grunewald, there is a train station, where 55,000 to
60,000 Jews were deported. Here, Track 17 is no longer used, but serves as a
Memorial and there is a cement memorial leading to the track where the figures
are carved out and missing from the sculpture wall to represent the missing
Jews.
Dr.
Wolf Kaiser, director of the Wannsee Memorial, has been at the conference since
1991. A trained historian, Kaiser grew up in West Germany, was a teacher and is
a member of the Task Force of International Cooperation on Holocaust Remembrance
and Research. Many school groups and tourists visit the Holocaust Memorial to
learn more about the Holocaust and to discuss issues about discrimination. There
is also a vast library on the second floor where students can learn more about
the subject.
There
are many more places of Jewish interest in Berlin as well as 29 museums, several
Jewish synagogues and a large Jewish community, the majority of which are
Russian Jews who immigrated to Germany after World War II. . It is estimated
that they are about 12,000 Jews in Berlin who belong to the Jewish community and
another 5,000 who aren’t registered.