Today we went to maybe my favorite art museum we’ve been to on this trip, the Berlin Gallery. There, in a repurposed glass storage facility, we were lead by a very animated and knowledgeable tour guide who showed us around this incredibly simple yet elegant museum. In it, one of the main tenants was that it’s artists had to have a relationship to Berlin. In the museum, our tour guide lead us in a discussion of what a nation is, how to create a national identity through art and how Germany’s art has evolved to show its history. We were shown a sort of timeline of Berlin’s and Germany’s art history, from massive realistic paintings commissioned by cosmetic tycoons all the way to abstract canvases that emulate Warhol in his duplication of images. It’s a museum that has so much within its white walls I plan to go back and spend maybe a whole day there, soaking up the nuclear exhibit and then rewatching the rare earths documentary. What the museum also made me think about is what I discussed in my first reflection, the relationship that Berlin has to art and how it dates back to Germany’s very inception with the initiatives of Sophie Charlotte and the schloss. The museum just reaffirmed the point that there is so much to this city and how there is so much art to be explored and pondered. It left me feeling invigorated to explore all I can before I leave.
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Today we began with listening to the powerful and moving story of two refugees, one from Afghanistan and the other from Iran. Their two stories covered two sides of the spectrum of immigration. The Iranian man flew to Berlin to have a better life and didn’t have to face to brutal of issues but he still has to deal with racism, islamophobia, and xenophobia. The man from Afghanistan had a horrific time immigrating to Berlin. He dealt with possibly every horrific thing a person could, crammed cars for hours, being shot at, running in the woods, being arrested. It was an incredible story to here, it inspired me in so many ways and it made me reflect on the impact that immigration has on cities and how it changes them. Then we went to this wonderful market and I saw this effect, this melting pot effect that helps mold and grow cities. I ate, drank and enjoyed this market and reflected on how we all grow from meeting others, learning to see how large our world is from the stories of others.
Today first we went to a mosque on the east side of Berlin, outside of the more touristy Mitte area we’ve been staying in. It was beautiful, simple and the imam there was incredibly open and kind. We had a thought provoking conversation after touring the mosque. An all around very well spent afternoon. Then, we seperated for lunch and then went to a dialogue with individuals from the Young Islam Conference. Here, we watched videos and listened to presentations from multiple people. Kailey’s video in particular was a well put together and I enjoyed it. Then, we had an open discussion of islamophobia in Germany and in America and I really thinked learned a great deal from one another. It was all around a very productive, thoughtful and complex day. I walk away from it filled with a sense of duty to learn far more about Islam. The only negative was seeing Checkpoint Charlie (the dialogue was near there) and how it is now this hollow and fake representation of what the place actually was. It's unfortunate to see this fake version of history being pushed out there as if it is real. The dialogue also reminded me the film Ali: Fear Eats The Soul and its discussion of issues of being adverse, to a point of hatred, to that which is different. It was a film that captured this sense of difference that is in Germany and it was interesting to hear its message verified by the people from Young Islam Conference and from the Imam we met with.
Today we went to the Wannsee conference villa where, on January 20, 1942, 15 National Socialt High Officials nailed down and officially began the planning process of the extermination of Jewish people in Europe. In this villa, originally owned by coal wholesaler and made by the same architect who made Max Friedlanders villa, the planning of deportation and then mass killing was put to pen and paper for the first time in the war. Led by Reinhard Heydrich, SS officers, defacto kings of varying occupied european regions and NA high command officials, they were given the lay out of what was to be done with the millions of prisoners they had either captured or had been given to “de-jew” German soil. What is especially significant about this meeting is that it is used as a sort of smoking gun when it comes to the Institutionalist argument in the explanation of the Holocaust. The museum used particularly charged language in its many massive glass canvases that housed the information about the Wannsee conference. While it is difficult to be objective with such a deeply affecting topic, the most important facet of learning history I believe is to be objective when observing the facts and once those are established, to process the information as one chooses. This particular museum did that for you and I believe that is a failing of the museum. While I am glad I went to the Wannsee villa, I do think it could have been done better as a museum. But the photos of the actual documents from the Wannsee conference were especially interesting to look at.
Today we walked around the jewish historical quarter of the mitte, an architecturally diverse center of the city that is also battling with the growing encroachment of gentrification and the grip of capitalistic intent. We were shown preserved buildings that are symbolic of the transformation of Berlin, from the bullet holes to the roots of their architectural design. We also heard tragically about how historical buildings, like a church, was nearly irreversibly damaged by two apartment structures that were built around it and a parking structure underneath it. All of this caused massive structural damage to the building and permanently closed it. This is emblematic of the problem throughout Berlin. Due to its financial woes, people and the city are heavily inclined to sell their rights on the historical buildings to wealthy realtors, who turn once authentic and beautiful buildings full of art and creation into hideous gray apartment complexes for wealthy foreigners and movie stars. One example we were shown was of an office building being built right next to and connected to a historical factory. It shows how the real history of Berlin is being shaped by societies overwhelming greed, painting over its rich past for the sake of euros. To say it was sad to see was an understatement. It made me think back to the Craig reading, to the work that Sophie Charlotte did to integrate and give support to Berlin's artistic and cultural roots and I hope those aren't lost in the grip of avarice.
Today we toured the holocaust memorial. To say that it was moving may be an understatement. The power and resonance that is housed in that sea of concrete is staggering. The museum underneath is a good addition, for it makes sure to still give more direct and clear testament to the victims of the holocaust, while the memorial provides an opportunity for a more personal journey, one removed from the numbers and pictures and one where the individual can reflect in a profoundly introspective and unique way. I found most moving how one could walk through the massive structures and while feeling trapped by their size and the lack of light, there was always a way out, an end to it. The simplicity of the installation also adds to its power, where the viewer can create their own interpretation without feeling like they are “missing the point” or “straying from the artists vision,” whatever one wants to take out of the installation, they can. This made me think of how the Nazi’s used art as a method of spreading their toxic slogans and hateful message, as shown in Leni Riefenstahl’s “Triumph des Willens?”. In this art as propaganda is on full display, yet in the holocaust memorial, it is used as a way of spurring thought, stimulating introspection, and serving as a constant reminder that history is always with us, it's what we do with it that is important.
We toured the Berlin Wall today, this time seeing a very moving stasis of it. They had kept a lot of the wall, adding a lot of exhibits in it as well that explained the power and presence the wall had. After watching movies like the lives of others, it was powerful to see the actual wall, see how big the divide was and hear about how abrupt the divide was. The exhibit that really sealed the experience for me was the authentic guard tower that they had taken from another point on the wall. Regardless of it not being from that area, the effect of authenticity was still there. Trying to capture just how ever present and dominant the wall was in Berlin is difficult to do in the modern day but the exhibit preserved enough to capture the right effect. The other really incredible part of the exhibit was the statue of the two people hugging over a book, a statue of mourning and remembrance for the atrocities of World War Two. They are present also in Hiroshima. It was a very austere statue, one that invokes the emotions of mourning, remembrance and the pain of war. It for me was the most essential part of the exhibit.
As we were driving around on the bus, the particularly interesting tour guide retelling some of the stories and histories of Berlin, I was simply amazed at the many wonderful buildings that seemed to be around every corner. From the beautiful Reichstag to the Brandenburg gate to the victory temple, you can tell that the roots of arts that was started in Berlin by Sophie Charlotte as highlighted in the Craig is still every present. It was even resilient when it had to recover from the massive bombing raids on Berlin by the US and British forces. The deep connection that Berlin has to arts, from music to architecture, is still very present in its historic and awe-inspiring boulevards. This is connected to the ever present theme we have discussed in the course about the unique attitude and character that Berlin has in comparison to the rest of Germany. It was a city filled with variety and color and this is further accentuated by its wonderful art and architecture.
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