Entry 4: Berlin through the years

This is a picture of the Berlin wall separating the East and

 West sides.

                Communism did not die with the end of World War II, it continued on in East Berlin. Berlin was left divided into East and West sides and it did not seem that there was much opposition to the building of the wall. Yet once the wall was up, people were jumping out of buildings to get to the other side of the wall. The East side maintained militarism similar to that of the Prussians and Nazi’s. I found it very interesting that the East side would destroy buildings because it represented the wrong message, and the communists were able to create a different history from the West side. You could see the culture difference between the East and West sides during an interview about the rebuilding of the Schloss. The resident of the West side was very excited for the rebuilding of the Schloss while the resident of the East side preferred the Palace of the Republic and the history that building had created. Buildings became such an issue in Berlin; the East and West sides competed to build the tallest building. This reminded me of the time Chicago and China were competing for the world’s tallest building.

          Another thing I found interesting in German history was the holding of the Olympic Games during Hitler’s rule. I did not know that Hitler had asked Speer to build another stadium four times the size of the one the Olympics were held in. The size of this stadium would be immense and ridiculous along with all of the other building plans Hitler had in mind. There were also plans to hold the Olympics in Germany every year. During this summer Olympics many countries threatened to boycott because Hitler did not want African Americans or Jews to participate and these threats caused Hitler to give in. I think that Jesse Owens’ performance was much more than just an Olympic victory, it gave hope and confidence to the entire country. It is not nearly the same as the most recent Olympics held in Russia but it is similar in the sense that America did not agree/appreciate the leader of the country. Sports have a much greater impact on society than one may think; it can give people hope and faith in a country and something to believe in. I could not imagine if the Olympics had only been held in Berlin, this is a tradition that is meant to be shared with everyone.

Jesse Owens, who won multiple medals at the Olympics in Berlin after almost not competing at all.

Palace of the Republic before it was torn down.

                I found the architecture of Berlin to be another interesting development and how it changed over the years. One building in particular, the Schloss, as mentioned early, has a very interesting history. The Schloss was greatly built up by Fredrick the Great and then was torn down by East Berlin officials. To replace the Schloss East Berlin built the Palace of the Republic to attempt to create a central center for the city. The Palace of the Republic was a much more modern style building than the Schloss and it certainly appealed to the younger generation. Building this building was a great idea by East Berlin officials because it did help to unify the people and it gave them a reason to stay. However, the feelings about the Palace were not the same throughout all of Berlin; the West side did not seem as enthusiastic. And now the space where the Schloss and the Palace of the Republic used to be is now an empty lot that Berlin is planning to use to rebuild the Schloss. There is always a challenge to create new buildings in the city of Berlin due to its past and the ideals and points of view of people around the city. 

The statue of Frederick in front of the Schloss.

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