Tuesday morning was cool and drizzly. We donned our rain jackets, grabbed umbrellas, and set off to meet local guide Torben for our second walking tour. As we waited to enter Otto Weidt's Workshop, Torben gave us a 5 minute synopsis of Jewish history that was the best we have ever heard or read. The alley we were standing in was full of what we in the US would consider graffiti. Much of it was quite good. Torben explained that compared to many other European cities, Berlin is very affordable, and thus many artists are drawn to the area. The "graffiti" in Berlin has nothing to do with crime, and everything to do with art.
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We toured the small workshop where Otto Weidt employed blind and deaf Jewish workers in the 1940's and bribed Gestapo officers to keep them from being deported. Brooms and brushes were made in the workshop, some for the German army, thus the factory was classified as "important for the war effort." Otto Weidt protected his workers for as long as he could and helped some go into hiding. In early 1943 many of the workers were arrested and sent to camps. The workshop remained in operation through the end of the war, though only a few workers remained. After the war Mr. Weidt established an orphanage for children who survived the concentration camps. After his death in 1947, his wife Else continued to operate the factory until the East German government shut it down in 1952. For his efforts to protect Jews, Otto Weidt was named a Righteous Man of the World's Nations by Yad Vashem in 1971.
Tour Day 3: Tuesday, June 21
After leaving the workshop, Torben led us to the Jewish Cemetery on Grosse Hamburger Strasse, passing through some beautiful art nouveau courtyards on the way. This is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Berlin, used between 1672 and 1827. The philospher Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786) was buried here. In 1943 the cemetery was destroyed, the graves were desecrated by the Nazis, and the area used for air raid shelters. In April 1945, the grounds were used as a mass grave for soldiers and civilians killed during Allied air raids.
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While we were walking through the cemetery, our guide Jana snuck off and bought a few different varieties of currywurst. She cut them into small slices for all of us to sample. I reluctantly took a piece. I am a picky eater, so was convinced I wouldn't like it. What a surprise when I did like it--enough to eat several pieces! Jana was terrific and continually spoiled us with treats.
We moved on to the Neue Synagogue with its beautiful golden dome. When it opened in 1866, it was the largest synagogue in Germany, seating 3,000. The interior was heavily damaged in 1938 during Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," when Nazi gangs (and sympathetic German civilians) burned and looted synagogues and Jewish owned homes and businesses. The building was bombed in Allied air attacks and has only been partially restored. There is an exhibit inside describing the history of Jews in Berlin, but we did not make it back to see it--put it on the list for our next trip!
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We ended our walking tour at the Berlin Wall Memorial and thanked Torben for being an excellent and informative guide.
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Otto Weidt's Workshop for the Blind
Second Walking Tour
Leaving Berlin
The next morning Jana introduced us to our bus driver Kamil, we performed a buddy check, and then we loaded up for the drive to Dresden. As we left Berlin, we passed a 1.3km stretch of the Berlin Wall, known as the East Side Gallery, that contains over 100 paintings by artists from all over the world. Jana played a recording of John F. Kennedy's "I am a Berliner," speech, delivered on June 26, 1963. "Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free," our 35th president proclaimed just a few months before he was assassinated. Staring at the Wall as the bus rolled past, I couldn't help tearing up a little. Luckily Jana lightened the mood by passing out "Berliners," which are German pastries similar to jelly donuts. There is a myth that JFK called himself a jelly donut when he stated "Ich bin ein Berliner," but Jana explained that his speech was the grammatically correct way to say what he meant (i.e., I am one of you).
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On the way to Dresden Jana shared some of her family history with us. She had a German grandmother who was married to her Czech grandfather. She talked about the difficulties of traveling from Czechoslovakia to visit German relatives during the Cold War, the long process of obtaining permission, and then not being allowed to travel together as a family--her parents could go, but to ensure their return, they had to leave her behind in Czechoslovakia. Her personal stories made history real. And given how young she is, it was startling to realize just how "present" this "past" history is for many people.
Gorgeous graffiti art in the alley way outside of the Otto Weidt Workshop. That is Anne Frank on the right. There is an Anne Frank museum here although she had no connection to Berlin.
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We already had a restaurant picked out for lunch--chosen from the Rick Steves guidebook. So we set off to find Deponie 3 along with two of our fellow tour members. It is nothing fancy, but is located under the S-Bahn tracks and supposedly is where the Soviets used to service their tanks, which we found interesting. We sat on the back patio and enjoyed our German dishes and great conversation with Kathy and Joan. After lunch we got oriented on Museum Island, then parted ways to visit different museums. Greg and I visited the German History Museum. Audioguide in hand, we concentrated on the WWII period, as that is what we were most interested in. There was so much to see, it was somewhat overwhelming. Our eyes glazed over after a couple of hours, so we called it quits and went to do something that required no brain power whatsoever--souvenir shopping! Before walking back to Prenzlauer Berg, we spent some time sitting in the Lustgarten, soaking in our last hours in Berlin. It was a beautiful evening to be out. Germany was playing in the World Cup that night and the streets were full of people; all of the restaurants had big screens set up outside and their patios spilled over. We tried to think of something similar we had seen in the US and could not. It was great to see so many people out together for a common purpose, having a good time. Luckily Germany won, so the crowds were in a good mood! When we got back to Hotel Kastanienhof, our red Mercedes bus was parked outside, reminding us that we would be moving on to Dresden in the morning.
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Fitbit Totals: 20,762 steps; 8.36 miles; 21 flights.
Free Afternoon
Tour Day 4: Wednesday, June 22
Our chariot awaits. This is the plush bus that we traveled Europe in. Very comfy, and plenty of room for everyone to have two seats. It also came equipped with a great driver.
