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The Strandburg (Beach Castle) – A Thing of the Past

Monday, June 20th, 2022

A Strandburg, which is German for “beach castle,” used to be an integral part of every German beach holiday. It is distinctly different from a sand castle. While the latter is intricately designed, the Strandburg is only a low, circular wall of sand that surrounds another German invention, the Strandkorb, or beach basket. The beach basket serves as the vacationer’s home away from home, and since it swivels, it also provides an excellent windbreak. The Strandburg demarcates the territory. Whenever you happen upon a Strandburg, you can be sure to find a German inside.

Typical Strandburg (Beach Castle) at the Baltic Sea around 1950. Photo © J. Elke Ertle. www.walled-in-berlin.com

History of the Strandburg

Until the end of the 19^th century, only the elite could afford to vacation at the beach. However, these upper-class lords and ladies did not stretch out in the sun or frolic in the waves. Instead, they stepped into a bathing cart, a contraption akin to a cabin on rollers, which was pulled into the water by a horse. Once knee-deep in the ocean, a servant opened the cabin door, and the beach goer jumped into the water. After a few strokes, he or she got back into the cart and was wheeled back onto the strand.

Once the general public could afford a beach holiday, the beach culture changed, and the entire family vacationed together. Now mother, father, and child spent all day at the beach. Upon arrival, the family rented a beach basket for the duration of their vacation. It didn’t take long before, the patriarch got bored with sitting in the Strandkorb with nothing to do. That’s when he reached for a spade and built a wall around his family’s beach basket. A new trend was born.

The decline of the Beach Castle

Until the 1960s, the building of a Strandburg remained a cherished pursuit. Children gathered sea shells, tiny rocks, and seaweed and decorated their beach castle. Sometimes, they adorned it’s rim with small paper flags. Spa towns sponsored contests, and the prettiest Strandburg won a prize. The beaches along the Baltic and North Sea soon looked like a moonscape due to the countless castles dotting the beach. While the building of a Strandburg was prevalent throughout the 1960’s, its popularity diminished in the 70’ and 80’s. By the 1990s, it had become a rarity. These days, no more than 5% of beach goers in Germany build a beach castle. Even fewer decorate it. Beach castles have become a rare gem on German beaches.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

Tags: Baltic, beach castle, Germany, North Sea, sand castle, Strandburg, Strandkorb
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Kaiserschmarrn – Sweet Dish Fit for Emperor

Monday, May 16th, 2022

Kaiserschmarrn is the name for a delicious torn pancake topped with fruit compote or fresh fruit. It is my all-time favorite on Sunday morning for brunch. Others like it for dessert or sometimes even as the entire meal.

History of Kaiserschmarrn

It is an Austrian dish, but there is a German connection. Kaiserschmarrn was conceived during the reign of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and of a slew of other states in the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1848 to 1916. Franz Joseph was a member of the royal Austrian House of Habsburg married Elisabeth of the royal Bavarian House of Wittelsbach. That’s where the German connection comes in.

Many stories circulate about the creation of Kaiserschmarrn. Elizabeth, or “Sisi” as she became known, paid close attention to her lovely figure and asked the royal chef to prepare only small, non-fattening desserts for her. When the chef first served the dish, Franz Joseph, quipped, “Let’s see what kind of ‘Schmarrn’ the chef has created for you this time.” It was still too fattening for Sisi, but Franz Joseph became very fond of it. A new dish was born that became very famous across the entire German-Austrian empire.

Kaiserschmarrn, a sweet dish fit for an emperor, you and me. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2022, walled-in-berlin.com

Meaning of the word “Kaiserschmarrn”

There is no perfect translation in English. The first part of the word, “Kaiser” means “Emperor” in English, but “Schmarrn” is more difficult to translate. It means jumble, silly thing, or heap, which refers to the fact that the pancake is intentionally torn before serving. Kaiserschmarrn is a type torn pancake, served topped with fruit compote made from fresh stone fruit or strawberry, blueberry or apple sauce and sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar.
My favorite Recipe for Kaiserschmarrn

Ingredients (4 servings)

For the Pancake: 3 eggs (divided) 3 T melted butter, 1 t vanilla extract, 2 T granulated sugar, 1 c flour, 1 c milk, pinch of salt. (Optional:1/3 c raisins and enough rum to cover them in a small jar)

To Caramelize: 2 T butter, 2 t granulated sugar

To Serve: 2 T confectioner’s sugar

Cooking instructions

In a small bowl, soak raisins overnight in rum.
When you are ready to make the pancake, beat the egg whites in a mixer until stiff peaks form (about 2-3 minutes). Remove them to a separate bowl.
Combine the egg yolks, melted butter, vanilla extract, sugar & the pinch of salt in the now empty bowl of the mixer.
Alternately add flour and milk, one tablespoon of each at a time.
Once added and mixed, fold in the stiff egg whites.
Heat 1 teaspoon butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Pour the batter into skillet and cook for about 6-7 minutes.
After 3 minutes sprinkle the drained raisins over the batter. (reserve the rum for other uses).
When the pancake is golden brown underneath, divide it into quarters and turn each piece with a spatula. Add a little butter to the pan while turning the pancake pieces. Cook for 3-4 min until the quarters are gold brown underneath.
Using two spatulas or forks, tear the pancake into bite-sized pieces. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the pieces. Gentle toss for 3-4 minutes, until the sugar has caramelized.
Remove to serving plates. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and serve with your favorite fruit compote or sauce.

Enjoy!

Tags: Austrian House of Habsburg, Bavarian House of Wittelsbach, Emperor Franz Joseph I, Empress Elisabeth (Sisi), Kaiserschmarrn
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Berlin Zoo – Most Visited Zoo in Europe

Sunday, April 17th, 2022

The Berlin Zoo (Zoologischer Garten Berlin) opened in 1844 and is located in the district of Tiergarten. It houses one of the most comprehensive collections of species in the world. The first animals were donated by Frederick William IV, King of Prussia. After the division of Berlin, the Berlin Zoo became part of West Berlin, and a second zoo, the Tierpark Berlin, was subsequently built in East Berlin. Visitors can either enter the Berlin Zoo through the Elephant Gate on Budapester Straße or through the Lion Gate on Hardenbergplatz.

Berlin Zoo – Elephant Gate on Budapester Strasse. www.walled-in-berlin.com. Photo © J. Elke Ertle

Berlin Zoo Badly Damaged During World War II

The first Allied WWII bombs hit the zoo area in September of 1941. The damage was relatively minor. But two years later, bombardments resulted in horrific damage. In less than 15 minutes on the first day, 30% of the zoo animals were killed. Of the eight elephants, only one survived. He lost his entire harem. The 2-year-old hippo bull, Knautschke, was saved by teenage boys who helped him escape from his enclosure. But the most damage was done during the Battle of Berlin between 22 April and 30 April 1945 when the Berlin Zoo was under constant Red Army artillery fire. On 31 May 1945, following German capitulation, zoo personnel counted the animals that had survived the war. Only 91 of the 3,715 animals had survived.

WWII Survivor – Knautschke the Hippo

Knautschke became the darling of the public and produced 35 offspring during his lifetime. He was born in the middle of the war and trapped in his hippo shelter – a building made of bricks – when the zoo was bombed. Debris blocked the exits, and the young hippo tried in vain to escape. He was already a fairly large animal, and his head got stuck in the exit. Glowing tinder and burning pieces of the roof were falling on him when several teenage boys saw what was happening and managed to work some boards free so that Knautschke could fit through the opening. They were successful. Knauschke jumped into the water basin and survived.

Knut – Famous Polar Bear Cub at the Berlin Zoo

The Berlin Zoo became known around the world when Knut, a polar bear, was born in captivity on 5 December 2006. He and his twin were rejected by their mother at birth and were subsequently raised by zookeeper Thomas Doerflein. Only the size of a guinea pig, Knut spent the first 44 days of his life in an incubator. Then Dörflein began to hand-raise the cub. The baby polar bear required 24-hour care, and Dörflein sleep on a mattress next to Knut’s sleeping crate at night. He played with, bathed, and fed the cub daily. When Knut was almost one year old and too strong for his human companion, the Berlin Zoo decided it was time for Doerflein to stop physical contact with the cub.

Berlin Zoo - Zookeeper Thomas Doerflein with Knut, the Polar Bear Cub. www.walled-in-Berlin.com. Image licensed under Creative Commons- Share Alil a2.5 generic license

Berlin Zoo – Zookeeper Thomas Doerflein with Knut, the Polar Bear Cub. www.walled-in-Berlin.com. Image licensed under Creative Commons- Share Alila, a 2.5 generic license

Tags: Battle of Berlin, Berlin Zoo, Elephant Gate, King of Prussia, Knautschke, Knut, Thomas Doerflein, Tiergarten, Zoologischer Garten Berlin
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Berlin’s Rotes Rathaus – Red City Hall

Monday, March 21st, 2022

Rotes Rathaus is located near the Alexanderplatz in Berlin’s Mitte district and occupies an entire city block. The moniker “red” was inspired by the town hall’s red brick facade and not by the political leanings of its occupants. Although during the Cold War, many associated East Berlin’s Red City Hall with Communism.

Pre-WWII History of Rotes Rathaus

Berlin’s Red City Hall was constructed in the second half of the nineteenth century. The neo-renaissance building was designed as a multi-winged complex with three inner courtyards and a just under 250-foot tower. The architecture of the tower is reminiscent of the cathedral tower of Notre Dame. The building was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in World War II. Until 1948, the Neues Stadthaus, which survived the bombing, served as a temporary city hall for the post-war city government for all four sectors of Berlin. After 1948, and until the completion of the reconstruction of the Rotes Rathaus, the Neues Stadthaus housed only the city government of the Soviet sector.

Post-WWII History of Rotes Rathaus

Between 1951 and 1956, the Rotes Rathaus was reconstructed to the original plans. Due to the division of Berlin, Red City Hall was located in the Soviet sector, and the East Berlin magistrate held its sessions there. Meanwhile, the Rathaus Schoeneberg, where John F. Kennedy spoke in 1963, served as the town hall for West Berlin, where the West Berlin senate met. Since the German Reunification, Rotes Rathaus is the seat of Berlin’s governing mayor and Berlin’s city government of the entire city of Berlin.

Berlin’s Rotes Rathaus as seen from the television tower. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-Berlin.com

Also Of Historic Interest

The Rotes Rathaus contains many rooms of historic interest. State visitors are generally received in the armorial hall, which is decorated with the emblems of Berlin’s districts. Equally impressive are the great ceremonial hall and the 30-foot high pillared hall with its orange rib-vaulted ceiling and busts of famous people. The gallery on the third floor holds the portraits of honorary citizens of Berlin.

Tags: Berlin, Cold War, Division of Berlin, German reunification, Red City Hall, Rotes Rathaus, World War II
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American Barbie and German Bild Lilli Share History

Monday, February 21st, 2022

Did you know that the American Barbie and German Bild Lilli are more than a little related? That’s right. Bild Lilli had her start as a sexy cartoon character in 1952 and was first marketed as a doll in in Germany in 1955. Aside from a few minor modifications and without obtaining copyright and patents to produce Bild Lilli, the American toy company, Mattel, began to manufacture almost identical dolls in 1959. They just named their dolls Barbie. Mattel acquired the necessary copyright and patents only after the German manufacturer sued. Therefore, Barbies were not legally produced until 1964.

Birth of Bild Lilli, the German Cartoon Character

When German caricaturist Reinhard Beuthien was asked to draw a cartoon for the 1952 inaugural issue ofWest German tabloid Bild-Zeitung, he first drew a baby. His editor didn’t care for the sketch, and Beuthien created a sexy, pony-tailed blonde instead. The first Bild issue shows Lilli sitting in a fortune-teller’s tent, asking, “Can’t you give me the name and address of this tall, handsome, rich man?” The cartoon was an immediate success and became a daily feature.

Bild Lilli Became a Sexy Call Girl

With Lilli, Beuthien portrayed a post-war sugar baby who seduced wealthy men. She was called Bild Lillie after the newspaper that popularized her and resembled a blue-eyed bombshell with arched eyebrows and large breasts. She wore red lipstick, blue eyeliner and had red finger nails. Her feet were molded into black stilettos. Lilli was sassy, coquettish and independent. At a time when women were supposed to be subservient to men, Lilli spoke her mind. That endeared her to women. But she also epitomized the male ideal of femininity, which popularized her with men. In short order, Lilli became a sensation.

Birth of Bild Lilli, the German Doll

In 1953, Bild-Zeitung decided to market Lilli as a doll in addition to a cartoon character. One hundred thirty thousend dolls sold between 1955 and 1964. Each one carried a miniature copy of the Bild-Zeitung. The doll was originally intended as a joke or gag gift and was marketed to adults. Men were the primary purchasers. Lilli was sold at kiosks, and tobacco shops and in bars. Although never designed as a children’s toy, Bild Lilli eventually became a popular children’s toy as well because she looked like an adult woman, vastly different from the dolls most little girls owned.

German Bild Lilli doll made its debut in 1955. photo courtesy of www.dar-alktab.ort and Pixabay. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Ruth Handler, a Modern American Innovator

Along came Ruth, born in 1916, married to her high school boyfriend, Elliot Handler, and residing in Los Angeles since 1938. After trying their hand in a small furniture enterprise, the Handlers started the Mattel toy company. The company’s name is a combination of a part of Elliot’s first name and part of Harold Matson’s, last name, partner in the Mattel company. In the beginning, Elliot made toy furniture for Ruth to sell.

Birth of Barbie, the American Doll

In 1956, the Handlers took their two teenagers, Barbara and Ken, on a trip to Switzerland. Fifteen-year-old Barbara fell in love with the German Lilli doll. Ruth saw a business opportunity and purchased three Lilli dolls to take back to California. Then she made very minor modifications to the design. The changes were so minimal that some say that she outright “stole” the Lilli design by retaining Lilli’s physical shape, but giving her real feet with tiny toes and removed her earrings. Ruth Handler then named her modification “Barbie” after her daughter. Barbie became an American icon and a multibillion-dollar business.

American Barbie doll made its debut in 1959 and legally in 1964. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Barbie is Produced Legally

In 1960, the Handlers took Mattel public. But having practically copied Bild Lilli’s design was not without consequences. In 1961, the manufacturer of Bild Lilli sued Mattel for infringing on its rights. Lawyers settled the suit out of court two years later, and in 1964 Mattel acquired the copyright and patents for Bild Lilli and began producing Barbie dolls legally. At the same time, production of the German Bild Lilli stopped. American Barbie and German Bild Lilli share much history. Today, Lilli is as much of a collector’s item as Barbie. Both dolls eventually became extremely popular with children and dollhouses, doll house furniture, and clothing were manufactured along with Barbie dolls.

Tags: Barbie Doll, Bild Lilli, Bild Zeitung, Mattel company, Reinhard Beuthhien, Ruth Handler
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Paper Coffee Filters Turn Housewife into Entrepreneur

Monday, January 17th, 2022

Have you ever wondered who came up with the brilliant idea of using paper coffee filters to brew that delicious cup of coffee in the morning? Until 1908, only cloth filters existed, and only the wealthy could afford them. Ordinary citizens had to brew their coffee without the use of filters. That meant that grounds accumulated in the bottom of the cup, irritating 35-year-old Melitta Bentz of Dresden, Germany, no end. Not only that, but she had to scrub the copper pot after each use because the grounds clung to the sides.

Paper Coffee Filters are Born

Every morning, Melitta fantasized about a better way to brew coffee. Nothing seemed to work until one day when she had an idea. She took her old copper pot and punched a few holes in the bottom. Next, she ripped a sheet of blotting paper from her son’s school notebook and lined the bottom of the pot. Then she heaped ground coffee into the blotting paper, placed the contraption on top of a coffee cup and slowly poured boiling water over it. The result was delicious coffee dripping through the paper and straight into her cup. The paper coffee filter was born and changed the coffee drinking world.

Melitta Bentz Goes into Business

After having perfected her paper coffee filters and testing them on her acquaintances, Melitta applied for a patent. On 8 July 1908, the Kaiserliche Patentamt (Imperial Patent Office) in Berlin granted a patent for her “Filter Top Device lined with Filter Paper.” In the winter of the same year, Melitta Bentz went into business and founded her namesake company, Melitta. Her husband Hugo and their two sons, Horst and Willy, were the first employees of the new company. With a starting capital of about $30, the couple produced the first paper coffee filters in their five-room Dresden apartment. Their sons made the deliveries with a handcart. When Melitta and Hugo showed their product at the Leipzig Trade Fair the following year, the concept took off. To accommodate the need for expansion, the company moved several times within Dresden, and by 1929, it moved to Minden in northwestern Germany.

Have you ever wondered who came up with the brilliant idea of using paper coffee filters to brew that delicious cup of coffee in the morning? www.walled-in-berlin.com

The Melitta Group Today

Melitta is now an International company, specializing in coffee products, and employs more than 4,000 people across the world. The company is still family-owned and operated. Its American headquarters are located in Clearwater, Florida. The plant in Minden, Germany, is still in use today. Melitta Bentz, the housewife turned entrepreneur, died on 29 June 1950 at the age of 77.

Tags: Dresden, Melitta Bentz, origin fo coffee filters
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Enjoy Every Day in 2022

Monday, December 20th, 2021

Enjoy Every Day in 2022. From our House to Yours! Photo © J. Elke Ertle. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Barely the day started, and it’s already six in the evening.

It’s barely Monday, and then it’s already Friday.

.. and the month is already over.

.. and the year is almost over.

.. and already 20, 30 40, 50, 60 or 70 years of our lives have passed.

.. and we may have lost parents, family and friends.

.. and we recognize it’s too late to go back.

Therefore, let’s try to enjoy every day in 2022.

Let’s look for activities we like.

Let’s put color in the ordinary.

Let’s smile at the little things in life that put joy in our hearts.

And despite whatever problems we encounter, let’s enjoy

every minute of the day that we have.

Let’s try to eliminate the “afters.”

I’m doing it after this and that.

I’ll say after.

I’ll think about it after.

We leave everything for later as if “after” were ours.

What we don’t realize is that:

Afterwards, the coffee gets cold.

Afterwards, priorities change.

Afterwards, the charm is broken.

Afterwards, the kids grow up.

Afterwards parents get old.

Afterwards, promises are forgotten.

Afterwards, the day turns to night.

Afterwards, health passes.

Afterwards, life ends.

And then it’s often too late.

So, let’s leave nothing for later.

Because by waiting for later,

We can lose the best moments,

The best experiences,

The best friends,

The best family.

Remember, the day is today.

The moment is now.

It often looks like an eternity, but it’s only a short trip,

Enjoy Every Day in 2022 and be kind to each other.

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Role of Marshall Plan in European Recovery

Monday, November 15th, 2021

The Marshall Plan, officially known as the European Recovery Program (ERP), was an American initiative to help Western Europe rebuild its economies in the aftermath of World War II. It was named after the United States Secretary of State, George C.. Marshall and consisted of aid both in the form of grants and loans. The Plan was in effect for four years, starting on 3 April 1948. It was based on a report written by Lewis H. Brown at the request of General Lucius D. Clay. The report was entitled “A Report on Germany.”

Purpose of the Marshall Plan

The purpose of the Plan was not to counteract the destruction caused by WWII as much as it looked toward the future. The Marshall Plan was designed to stimulate economic recovery of the nations severely impacted by the war. Plan proponents believed that modernization of industrial and business practices was needed along with removal of trade barriers, increased productivity and prevention of the spread of Communism.

General George C. Marshall, author of the Marshall Plan, photo taken in 1947, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Recipients of Marshall Plan Aid

The United States provided in excess of $12 billion in economic assistance. Of the eighteen countries receiving aid, the largest recipient was the United Kingdom securing $3,297 billion. France received $2,296 billion, West Germany received $1,448 billion, Italy $1,203 billion and the Netherlands $1,128 billion. Although eligible for aid, the Soviet Union chose not to participate because it did not want the US to get any kind of control over communist economies. The Soviet Union also denied Eastern Bloc countries the opportunity to participate.

Effectiveness of the Plan

By 1952, the year the funding ended, the economy of every participating country had surpassed pre-war levels. Output was at least 35% higher than in 1938. However, most historians reject the idea that the Marshall Plan alone was responsible for European recovery. Most believe that it sped European recovery, but did not initiate it.

Germany and the Marshall Plan

In West Germany, bombing had destroyed 5,000,000 houses and apartments, and 12,000,000 refugees from former eastern territories added to the crisis. In 1945–1946 housing and food were difficult to impossible to obtain. And the disruption of transportation, infrastructure, markets and finances slowed a return to normality even more. In addition, in January 1946, the Allied Control Council placed a cap on German steel production. The maximum allowed was set at about 5,800,000 tons of steel per year, the equivalent to 25% of the pre-war production level. Many steel plants were dismantled. The plan was to reduce Germany to the standard of living it had known at the height of the Great Depression in 1932.

Germany Linked to Recovery of All of Western Europe

By mid-1947, the U.S. realized that economic recovery in Europe could not go forward without the reconstruction of the German industrial base because the entire economy of Europe was interlinked. To reduce Germany to a “pastoral state,” as proposed by Henry Morgenthau, would be a mistake. Instead, the “complete revival of German industry, particularly coal mining” became of primary importance to American security. Former US Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan, gives most credit to German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard for Europe’s economic recovery.

The Soviet Union and the Marshall Plan

The Soviet Union had been ravaged by WWII as much as Western Europe and imposed large reparation payments on Austria, Finland, Hungary, Romania and especially East Germany. These countries were forced to pay vast cash sums and ship large amounts of supplies to the USSR. In essence, the Soviet Union received reparations in the form of monies and goods that were equivalent in value to what the eighteen Western European countries received in the form of Plan aid. To reduce the effects of the Marshall Plan, the USSR developed its own economic plan, known as the Molotov Plan.

Tags: A Report on Germany, Alan Greenspan, Allied Control Council, European Recovery Program, George Marshall, Henry Morgenthau, Lewis H. Brown, Lucius D. Clay, Ludwig Erhard, Marshall Plan, Molotov Plan
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Shoe-Testing Unit at Sachsenhausen

Monday, October 18th, 2021

The shoe testing unit was a punishment detail in the former Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp near Berlin, Germany. The facility was operated by the Nazi government between 1936 and 1945. It served as a training ground for other such camps and as a testing ground for “efficient” execution methods. Individuals who refused to work or were found guilty of a variety of “crimes” were sent here or to a similar camp. The shoe-testing unit at Sachsenhausen was set up in 1940, an extermination unit was built in 1942, and a gas chamber was added in 1943. Tens of thousands of internees died as a result of forced labor, hunger, disease, medical experiments or mistreatment, or were victims of systematic extermination by the Nazis.

Punishment Units at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp

Prisoners assigned to punishment units were assigned to one of three sections: (1) The currency counterfeiting detail, which produced fake British £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes, (2) the brickworks, which manufactured building blocks for Hitler’s vision for his model city, Germania, or (3) the shoe testing unit.

Purpose of the Shoe-testing Unit

During World War II, the Nazi government sought a substitute for leather, which was used in the manufacture of soles for military boots. Leather was rationed during the war, and alternatives were needed. That meant that prisoners were forced to test-march the resilience of soles made from various materials, such as rubber and a PVC-type compound. Prisoners assigned to the shoe-testing detail were made to walk an average of 25 miles per day, carrying 25-pound packs on their backs, to increase the stress placed on the soles made from various materials.

Shoe-testing Procedures

According to Norman Ohler’s Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich © 2017, the track was 2,300 feet long and consisted of 58% concrete road, 10% cinder, 12% loose sand, 8% mud (that was kept constantly under water), 4% chips, 4% coarsely graveled paths, and 4% cobbles. The various surfaces were to represent a cross-section of the roads German soldiers might have to walk on during military operations. Every six miles the soles were examined for wear. After a number of refinements, rubber soles were found to be able to withstand 1,800 miles, or a seventy-five-day march. Leather barely survived 600 miles. “Igelit,” a form of PVC, survived for more than 1,200 miles. About 20 people died on the track every day.

Part of the shoe-testing area at former Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Why would the German shoe industry participate in such experiments?

Part of the shoe-testing area can still be seen today. It is documented that well-known German shoe companies such as Salamander and Leiser, still in existence today, routinely sent their military boot prototypes to the camp for testing. My question when I visited the Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg memorial was why would the German shoe industry participate in such atrocious experimentation? The answer is straightforward. Money. The German Reich economics office allowed the production of leather substitute materials only after they had been successfully tested in Sachsenhausen. If a shoe companies wanted to sell its goods, it had to participate in the shoe-testing. Money was and is a powerful motivator anytime and anywhere. As I understand it, Hollywood cancelled the release of a planned documentary on what was happening to the Jews during the same period. However, when the Nazis threatened to confiscate Hollywood’s real estate holdings in Germany and to prohibit Hollywood from showing the totality of its movies in Germany, Hollywood cancelled the release. Showing the documentary would have meant giving up a lucrative market. Money talks.

Tags: Blitzed, Germany. Norman Ohler, Nazi Germany, Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp, shoe-testing
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Former Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg Concentration Camp

Monday, September 20th, 2021

The former Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp, now a memorial site, is located about 20 miles north of Berlin, on the edge of the small town of Oranienburg https://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/oranienburg-city-of-unexploded-bombs/

Between 1936 and 1945, more than 200,000 detainees, both men and women, passed through its gate. The prisoners were mainly political opponents, but also Soviets, Jews, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, alcoholics, drug addicts and citizens of occupied European countries. Many of the inmates lost their lives in the camp. I visited that camp, now a museum, in 2019 and felt deeply ashamed when I saw the pictures and the evidence of what human beings are capable of doing to other human beings whom they see as inferior. To me, the implications go beyond Nazi Germany.

Layout of the Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg camp

Sachsenhausen was intended to set the standard for other concentration camps, both in design and in the treatment of prisoners. The main gates to Sachsenhausen bear the infamous slogan “Arbeit macht Frei “ (work makes you free). Located behind that gate was a parade field where prisoners reported for morning and evening roll call. Barrack huts radiated in four arches around the parade ground. The site was triangular in shape so that a single guard could oversee all of the barracks from the main tower, and a single machine gun could cover the prisoners. The perimeter of the compound consisted of a 10-foot-high stone wall on the outside and an electric fence on the inside, which was patrolled by guards with dogs.

Front Gate to Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp with “Arbeit macht frei” slogan. photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Purpose of the Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg camp

Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg served as a forced labor camp as well as a training center for Hitler’s Schutzstaffel officers (protection squadron). In the beginning, the camp was used to perfect the most efficient execution method for use in Nazi death camps. Later, small-scale methods progressed into large-scale deaths in gas chambers. Some of the prisoners worked in close by brickworks to produce building blocks for Hitler’s vision for his model city, Germania. https://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/germania-hitlers-utopian-quest/ Others worked in a currency counterfeiting unit that produced fake British £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes with the plan to drop them over London to disrupt the British economy. Still others tested the resilience of soles for the German shoe industry. Inmates were also to aid in the war effort by producing parts for industrial giants like AEG, Siemens and Heinkel.

Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg concentration camp – Main building with Tower A. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019 www.walled-in-berlin.com

Sachsenhausen following World War II

Since it was located within the Soviet Occupation Zone, the Soviets took over Sachsenhausen in 1945 and initially continued to use it as a concentration camp. Then it served the East German Volkspolizei (People’s Police) for a while, and in 1961, while still in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg camp became a national memorial. After German reunification, https://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/german-reunification/ the former concentration camp became a museum site and has been open to the public since 2015.

Most prominent prisoner in Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg

Joseph Stalin’s oldest son, Yakov Dzhugashvili was captured in 1941 and was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen. Stalin treated him like any other Soviet soldier and did not give him a cushy job at Headquarters but rather put him on the front line of the war. When the Nazis captured him, they intended to exploit him for propaganda purposes or to use him for a prisoner swap. Both plans failed because Yakov did not cooperate. In 1943, he threw himself at the camp’s electric barbed wire fence and was shot dead by a guard.

https://www.rbth.com/history/332880-why-didnt-stalin-rescue-his-son

Tags: Arbeit macht frei, concentration camp, Nazi Germany, Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg, World War II, Yakov Dzhugashvili
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