Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit the city of Berlin for the first time with Jessica. Naturally I was thrilled to finally get to know a place I had read so much about (most recently in Erik Larson's Garden of Beasts, thanks to my friend Stephanie Eastman's referral), as well as seen portrayed in numerous works of literature, art and film (including Tom Hanks' Academy Award winning Bridge of Spies). I've also heard a lot about the city from my Dad, who still warmly recounts the European adventure his family went on in 1967 that included a stopover in divided Berlin and a trip through Checkpoint Charlie that almost left one of my Uncles stranded behind the Iron Curtain.
(From Left to Right): my Uncle Tom, Aunt Soozee, Granddad Allen Shepherd, Uncle Jeff, Grandma Irma Shepherd, my Dad (Tim) and Uncle Fella all in front of the Brandenburg Gate in divided Berlin (July 1967).
We brought along a brand new Nikon D3300 camera for the ride, and I'm glad we did, because during those 3 days I learned something important about Berlin: it's a city that speaks for itself. It's a place that has seen the rise and fall of a murderous dictator and his ruthless regime, the construction and demolition of a Wall that represented the worst of Communism, and yet has also witnessed some of the greatest feats of mind, body and spirit in human history. It's a place of terrible tragedy and glorious triumph, and this complex past still lingers in the city's air and whispers in the wind flowing through its streets.
Checkpoint Charlie
"I’m not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, had you said it was going to happen no one would have believed you. The system seemed powerful and unbreakable. Suddenly overnight it blew away like dust."
- Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie, British/Indian novelist
For 28 years (1961-1989), this checkpoint served as a gateway between the free world and and the Iron Curtain of Soviet Communism. It was the scene of an infamous tank standoff in October 1961, saw the tragic deaths of many East Germans attempting to escape into freedom, and ultimately was the site of thousands of joyous reunion for families who had been alienated for decades.
Even today, Checkpoint Charlie remains a place where the forces of freedom and oppression can be seen grappling for influence. The sign below appeals for European support of Ukrainian sovereignty and calls out Vladimir Putin's recent power plays in no uncertain terms.
Jewish Museum
"Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe."
- Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
I spent half of my first afternoon in Berlin at the Jewish Museum, a truly moving experience that is sure to leave any visitor with a deeper appreciation for Jewish culture and history (especially in Germany), as well as the sense of the loss that the world suffered due to the Holocaust.
This installation by Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman is known as "Shalekhet" ("Fallen Leaves"). Consisting of over 10,000 open-mouthed faces cut from circular iron plates that cover the floor, it rests in the "Memory Void" exhibit hall and provides but a minuscule conception of the millions of innocent lives that were lost.
Olympic Stadium
"The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at."
- Jesse Owens, American Track & Field Legend
In 1936, Berlin hosted the Olympic Games. Hitler intended to use the XI Olympiad as an instrument of Nazi propaganda to prove the fantasy of the "pure Aryan race" as physically superior to all others. His plans were waylaid by a young African American from Ohio named Jesse Owens, whose 4 gold medals exposed the absolute absurdity of racism. Yet, while Owens had defeated racism on the track, it was a battle he still had to fight daily over the course of his life. Ironically, he returned home to less than a hero's welcome: "Although I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the President either."
In August 2009, 73 years after Jesse Owens shocked the world, Jamaica's Usain Bolt set the world record for the 100 and 200 meter sprints in this same stadium, with times of 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds respectively.
Street Graffiti
"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believed that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."
- Martin Luther King, Jr., Leader of the American Civil Rights Movement
"Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven."
- William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright
Around Town
Along the banks of the Spree River
The New Synagogue on Oranienburger Straße
Berliner Dom
U-Bahn station signs
Hackescher Markt
The Reichstag
"Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades. All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words Ich bin ein Berliner!"
- President John F. Kennedy (June 26, 1963)
All photos provided by Jessica, © 2016.