Tête-à-Tête Archives - Page 21 of 38

Archive for the ‘Tête-à-Tête’ Category

Recreation of Hitler Bunker

Monday, November 21st, 2016

In October 2016, more than 71 years after Adolf Hitler committed suicide, Historiale, an organization which runs the Berlin Story Bunker Museum, recreated part of the Hitler Bunker (Fuehrerbunker) for the public’s benefit. The privately funded museum vows that it will not allow the exhibit to become a neo-Nazi shrine. It says it is merely responding to tourist demand. Tourists are curious where the Hitler Bunker was located and what it looked like inside Historiale claims. But the nearby state-funded Topography of Terror Museum, built on the site of the former Gestapo headquarters, blasts the museum’s bunker recreation as a Disneyland-style approach to Berlin’s past. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/the-times/berlin-museum-recreates-bunker-where-hitler-committed-suicide/news-story/a793376164c498bf651362b90bbe6c90

History of the Hitler Bunker

The Hitler bunker was the last air raid shelter used by Adolf Hitler during World War II. It was located beneath the garden of the Chancellery (Reichskanzlei) near Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. The bunker consisted of about 30 small rooms that were protected by 13 feet of concrete.

Hitler moved into the Fuehrerbunker in January 1945. By 19 April 1945, the Soviets began to encircle the city. On 20 April, Hitler made his last trip to the surface. As fierce street fighting raged outside, Hitler married Eva Braun in a small civil ceremony inside the bunker. On 30 April, the day following the wedding, he is said to have shot himself while Braun took cyanide.

The Hitler bunker was discovered by Red Army and Allied troops in the spring of 1945. The Soviets leveled both Chancellery buildings between 1945 and 1949, but the underground bunker complex largely survived until 1988–89 when the East German government ripped out the interior and filled the site with rubble.

What does the actual Hitler Bunker site look like today?

To keep the Hitler Bunker site from attracting attention, the government of the reunited Germany built apartment buildings and a parking lot where the emergency exit for the Fuehrerbunker was once located. In 2006, an information board was installed to mark the location of the former Hitler Bunker. The board is located at the corner of In den Ministergaerten and Gertrud-Kolmar-Strasse near Potsdamer Platz.

Site of former Hitler Bunker in 2014, photo © J. Elke Ertle, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Information Board at the formerl Hitler Bunker site in 2014, photo © J. Elke Ertle, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Information Board at the former Hitler Bunker site in 2014, photo © J. Elke Ertle, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Where is the recreated Hitler Bunker located?

The recreated Hitler Bunker is located in a former underground air raid bunker at the Anhalter Bahnhof, about one mile from the actual bunker site. The permanent exhibit contains a life-sized recreation of Hitler’s underground living and workrooms (although the furniture is not original). There is a picture of Friedrich der Grosse (Frederick the Great) on the wall, a grandfather clock in one corner and an oxygen canister in the other. The bunker is filled with black and white photographs of Hitler and his entourage.

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 and current events, people, places and 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: Adolf Hitler, Berlin Story Bunker Museum, Brandenburg Gate, Chancellery, Eva Braun, Fuehrerbunker, Hitler Bunker, Potsdamer Platz, Topography of Terror Museum
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Recreation of Hitler Bunker

West German Economic Miracle Secret

Monday, November 14th, 2016

Less than ten years after World War II, people began talking about a German economic miracle (Wirtschaftswunder). Twenty years after the war, Germany’s economy was envied by much of the world. What was the secret behind this so-called Wirtschaftswunder?

At the end of the war in 1945, 20% of Germany’s buildings were destroyed; in Berlin, the capital, 40% were destroyed. Factories and railroad tracks that had survived the war were dismantled and shipped east and west to pay for war reparations. Power, sewage, transportation systems no longer functioned. Food production per capita in 1947 was only one-third of its 1938 level. Then how did Germany get back on its feet so quickly?

The Marshall Plan and the West German economic miracle

The US-sponsored Marshall Plan (European Recovery Aid) immediately comes to mind. Between 1948 and 1951, the U.S. paid out 12 million dollars in recovery aid. The top two recipients were Great Britain (26%) and France (18%). West Germany was third with a little over 11%. The Soviet Union, its allies and East Germany did not take advantage of the Marshall Plan, which might explain the different rate of post-war growth and reconstruction between East and West Germany. Many economists now say that the Marshall Plan was not the main reason for the West German economic miracle. But if the Marshall Plan was not the driving force, then what was?

The currency reform and the West German economic miracle

Many economists today feel that what looked like a West German economic miracle was really the result of policies that ended inflation, price controls, a high marginal tax rate and ration tickets. These policies promoted a “social market economy”, which unleashed a hefty increase in productivity. Germany’s currency reform of 1948 replaced the highly inflated Reichsmark (RM) with a much smaller number of Deutsche Mark (DM). http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/GermanEconomicMiracle.html At the same time, many prices were decontrolled, taxes were cut and ration tickets were completed eliminated. A proponent of the currency reform, West German Finance Minister Ludwig Erhard said, “The only ration ticket the German people will need is the Deutsche Mark. And they will work hard to get these marks.”

Schools behind the free market economy

The school of economic thought, called the Soziale Markwirtschaft (social free market) was based at Germany’s University of Freiburg. Its founder was Walter Eucken. Among its members were Wilhelm Roepke and Ludwig Erhard. (http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/ludwig-erhard-and-the-economic-miracle/) The Freiburg school was similar to the Chicago school based at the University of Chicago with Milton Friedman and George Stigler. Members of both schools believed in free markets, along with some slight degree of progression in the income tax system and government action to limit monopolies.

Tags: currency reform, free market, George Stigler, German Economic Miracle, Ludwig Erhard, Marshall Plan, Milton Friedman, Soziale Marktlwirtschaft, WalterEucken, Wilhelm Roepke, Wirtschaftswunder
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on West German Economic Miracle Secret

East German Uprising of 17 June 1953

Monday, November 7th, 2016

Is there a parallel between the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/who-really-opened-the-berlin-wall/ and the uprising of East German workers in 1953? Maybe. Both confrontations started with relatively small requests for policy change and ended in calls for freedom and democracy. The big difference is that Soviet tanks rolled in 1953, but not in 1989.

Factors in the Uprising of 17 June 1953

In spring of 1953, the East German state budget was in serious trouble. Sixteen percent of the budget supported the military, rearmament, occupation costs and reparations, leaving little for the production of food and consumer goods. In addition, expropriations and land reforms had caused droves of East German farmers to walk away from their farms. There simply was not enough food being produced. Staples continued to be allocated with ration cards in East Germany until 1958. Even with the cards, people could put only half the amount of meat and fat on their table as they had done prior to WWII. Long queues regularly lined up in front of shops. Residential power cuts often began at nightfall to meet the needs of industry during peak hours. And most importantly, price levels in East Germany were well above those in West Germany. While the average income in East Germany in 1952 was 308 marks, one kilo of butter cost 24 marks, one kilo of sugar 12 marks and one kilo of pork 15 marks. http://www.bstu.bund.de/DE/Wissen/DDRGeschichte/17-juni-1953/Ursachen-des-Aufstands/_inhalt.html While a bar of chocolate cost 50 pfennigs in the West, it sold for 8 marks in the East. In short, the prosperity gap between East and West Germany was very obvious to the people in both East and West.

Calls for New Production norms

The East German government recognized that corrections in the centrally planned economy were necessary and proposed to increase taxes and reduce salaries. But on 11 June 1953, the government announced a new direction: There would be no tax or price increases and no more power cuts. Instead, production norms would be raised by 10%. The planned increase in norms translated into a reduction in wages, which triggered widespread discontent among workers.

The Uprising of 17 June 1953 gains momentum

The next day, there were peaceful protests in many villages across the country. On 16 June, workers at two major Berlin construction sites – the gigantic reconstruction project on the Stalinallee, http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/karl-marx-allee-post-wwii-flagship-project/ and the new hospital construction project in Berlin-Friedrichshain – dropped their tools and marched in protest to the seat of the government. Not getting any satisfaction, they called for a general strike and a protest meeting at the Strausberger Platz in the Stalinallee (now called Karl-Marx-Alleee) the following day. On 17 June, thousands marched to the seat of the government again. Along the way, more and more workers stopped work and joined in. As the protest gained momentum, demands no longer focused solely on production norms but also on free elections and the resignation of the leadership. Spontaneous protests broke out that day in over 700 cities and towns across East Germany.

Soviet tanks and East German police fired into the crowd. Demonstrators responded with sticks and stones. Many were injured or killed. Others fled to the West. The East German Uprising of 17 June 1953 was bloodily squashed. East Germany did not revolt again until 1989.

Demonstrators throwing rocks at Russian tanks in the Stalinallee during the East German Uprising of 17 June 1953. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Tags: East German Uprising of 1953, increase in production norms, Karl-Marx-Allee, prosperity gap, Stalinallee, Strausberger Platz
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on East German Uprising of 17 June 1953

Karl-Marx-Allee – post-WWII Flagship Project

Monday, October 31st, 2016

The Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin, Germany, was East Germany’s post-WWII flagship reconstruction project. The majestic 1.25 mile-long boulevard is almost 300 feet wide. Between 1951 and 1965, 8-story to 10-story buildings were constructed on both sides of this grand boulevard. Shops, restaurants and cafés were built to line the ground floor. Around 5,000 apartments were constructed above. Today, all of the buildings have been restored to their former glory, and the entire street is a designated historic site.

Typical apartment building along Karl-Marx-Allee. photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Naming the Karl-Marx-Allee

In the Golden Twenties the boulevard was known as the Grosse Frankfurter Strasse, a notoriously poverty-stricken locale. During World War II, the Red Army turned the area into a wasteland of rubble. In the aftermath, some 2 million volunteers cleaned up the debris with bare hands. They picked thirty-eight million bricks out of the rubble and prepared them for reuse so that 70% of the project’s bricks were salvaged ones. http.//www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/legacy-of-rubble-women

In 1949, the Grosse Frankfurter Strasse was renamed Stalinallee in honor of the Soviet leader’s 70th birthday. Two years later, a 16-foot-high bronze statue of Stalin was unveiled, but during a November night in 1961, that statue vanished. It was melted down as part of the East German government’s de-Stalinization process. When residents awoke that morning, they saw brand new street signs, and the Stalinallee had been renamed Karl-Marx-Allee, after the German philosopher and revolutionary, Karl Marx.

Purpose of the Karl-Marx-Allee

The post-WWII reconstruction project was conceived not only for the purpose of building apartments, shops, a movie theater, public offices and schools, but the boulevard was also supposed to reflect the new social order. Therefore, in October 1952, a special commission was formed for the “artistic decoration of the Stalinallee,” as the boulevard was still called at that time. Elements were developed to give the boulevard its unique appearance: Huge candelabras, columns, balustrades, Meissen porcelain facings, fountains, clocks and other elements. Dual towers were constructed at both ends of the boulevard, the Frankfurter Tor and the Strausberger Platz. During 1966/67, a floating ring fountain was added in the center of the Strausberger Platz. The fountain, made of copper sheets welded together, gives the impression of crystals floating in the air above the water.

Famous Floating Ring Fountain at Strausberger Platz. photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015. www.walled-in-berlin.com

High Quality Living in the Karl-Marx-Allee Apartments

For the times, the Karl-Marx-Allee apartments offered workers a fairly high quality of living. Rents were affordable. The apartments were spacious and equipped with modern amenities such as hot water, central heating, elevators, tiled bathrooms, bathtubs, built-in cupboards, balconies, even garbage chutes and house phones. http://coldwarsites.net/country/germany/karl-marx-allee

Therefore, the Karl-Marx-Allee became a source of great pride for the people of the former East Germany. In 1953, however, when the production norms for laborers on the project were raised by 10% without a correspondent pay increase, it was also the site of a massive uprising. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/east-german-uprising-of-17-june-1953/

Rent Levels in the Karl-Marx-Allee Apartments

1953 – For an 860 square-foot, three-room apartment with kitchen and bath, as described above, the original tenants paid 78 DDR Mark (East Mark) in monthly rent. That amount represented 21% of the average resident’s income.

1979 – The rent was still 78 DDR (East Mark) per month. It had not changed in 26 years and now represented only 10% of the average tenant’s income.

1990 – Following the 1:1 currency exchange to DM (West Mark), the monthly rent remained fixed at 78 DM, which amounted to a mere 6% of the average renter’s income.

1991 – Following reunification, rents rose to 620 DM (West Mark), a shocking 51% of income for many.

2000 – Following repair and renovation of the apartments, rents rose to 931 DM, which represented 40% of income.

2013 – Following the adoption of the Euro, rents settled at 650 Euros for original tenants and at 720 Euros for new renters, representing 48% of the average income.

Today, Berliners of all ages still scramble to secure one of the bright, spacious apartments on the Karl-Marx-Allee. Rents are still rising, but potential tenants value the broad sidewalks, the public gardens and the proximity to cafés and restaurants. They might even catch a movie at the Kino International, a popular spot for viewing international films.

Kino International on the Karl-Marx-Allee, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Tags: Frankfurter Tor, Grosse Frankfurter Strasse, Joseph Stalin, Karl Marx, Karl-Marx-Allee, Kino International, Stalinallee, Strausberger Platz
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Karl-Marx-Allee – post-WWII Flagship Project

Oranienburg – City of Unexploded Bombs

Monday, October 24th, 2016

Oranienburg holds the dubious distinction of being the most dangerous town in Germany. That is because the heaviest concentration of unexploded World War II ordinance in all of Germany is regularly discovered in Oranienburg, a town on the banks of the River Havel, just 22 miles north of Berlin. Seventy years after World War II has ended, German bomb disposal teams continue to find and deactivate unexploded war-era bombs. It is estimated that another 350 to 400 bombs are still buried under the city.

Why so many unexploded bombs in Oranienburg?

Between 1940 and 1945, U.S. and British forces dropped 2.7 million tons of bombs on Europe, half of them on Germany. Oranienburg dates back to the 12th century. Hitler chose the town as a hub for his armaments industry. He located an arms depot, an aircraft plant, a railway junction for trains to the eastern front, and a research facility for his atomic bomb program in Oranienburg. To destroy these sites, the Allies dropped about 22,000 incendiary and explosive bombs over the city, 10,000 bombs between 1944 and1945 alone.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/05/germany-unexploded-bombs/484799/

It has been suggested that another reason for so many bombs being dropped on the city was to keep the Nazi research out of the hands of the rapidly advancing Russian troops. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seventy-years-world-war-two-thousands-tons-unexploded-bombs-germany-180957680/?no-ist,

Seventy years after World War II, more than 2,000 tons of unexploded munitions are uncovered on German soil every year. As many as 10 percent of the bombs failed to explode, which means that tons of unexploded ordnance still remain beneath German cities. Since 1991, bomb disposal teams have found and defused 159 unexploded bombs in Oranienburg alone.

One of the reasons that unexploded World War II ordinance is so dangerous is that thousands of the bombs were equipped with chemical time-delay fuses rather than percussion fuses. While the latter are designed to explode on impact, time-delay fuses are intended to ignite up to 24 hours following impact. The impact is supposed to set in motion a chain reaction, which eventually leads to the decomposition of a critical part of the bomb and subsequent explosion. But in many bombs decomposition did not take place. The ordinance remained buried in the sandy soil, and over the years, these critical components have become so brittle that the risk of instantaneous explosion has become very real.

http://www.tagblatt.de/Nachrichten/Im-brandenburgischen-Oranienburg-stecken-noch-tausende-Fliegerbomben-mit-Langzeitzuendern-im-Boden-147359.html

Who defuses the unexploded bombs?

Thousands of tons of unexploded bombs are uncovered every year in all parts of Germany. German bomb-disposal squads are among the busiest in the world. The Kampfmittelbeseitigungsdienst – KMBD – (bomb disposal team), made up of firefighters and police, is responsible for defusing these bombs. Before any construction project begins in Germany the ground must first be certified as cleared of unexploded ordnance. Oranienburg is the only city in Germany, which pursues a systematic search for unexploded ordinance based on postwar aerial photos and magnetic or radar underground measurements for metal.

It is impossible to predict how many years it will take to clear Germany of unexploded ordnance. So far, the bomb disposal teams have dealt primarily with open spaces. They still will have to systematically look beneath houses and factories. It is suspected, however, that a hundred years from now unexploded bombs will still be resting in the soil of Germany.

Tags: bombs with percussion fuses, bombs with time-delay fuses, Hitler's armaments hub, Kampfmittelbeseitigungsdienst, KMBD, Oranienburg, unexploded World War II ordinance
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Oranienburg – City of Unexploded Bombs

Allied High Commission governs Germany

Monday, October 17th, 2016

The Allied High Commission (Alliierte Hohe Kommission) was a form of Allied military rule following World War II. It was established on 21 September 1949 by the three Western Allies (The United States, Great Britain and France) and superseded the Allied Control Council

Purpose of the Allied High Commission

The function of the Allied High Commission in Germany was to regulate and, if necessary, intervene in areas of military, economic, and foreign policy matters of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).

Creation of the Allied High Commission

On 9 May 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the four allies: The United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The four allies assumed responsibility for the government of Germany via the Allied Control Council. Each power occupied a specific zone of Germany. Berlin, located entirely within the Soviet Zone, was to be governed by an Allied Kommandatura.

The four Allies attempted to formulate a common administrative policy for Germany, but the divergent interests among the occupying powers made their efforts futile. In 1946, British forces agreed to an American proposal to merge their two zones to create a bizone for economic reasons. The bizone was established on 1 January 1947, and in June, a plan to include the French Zone was agreed upon. The Soviets blockaded West Berlin. In return, the Western powers counter-blockaded the Soviet zone and organized an airlift to keep West Berlin supplied. The Soviet Union finally lifted the blockade in May 1949, but Berlin remained divided into three Western and one Eastern sectors until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Meanwhile, a German government was set up in the Western zones. In April 1949 the United States, Great Britain and France published a new occupation statute of Germany governing their respective zones. It guaranteed self-government to the new West German State, with certain restrictions. West Germany’s constitution went into effect in May 1949. In September, the Occupation Statute went into effect, and the Allied High Commission replaced the Allied Control Council in September 1949. https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/subjects images/government publications/pdfs/germany-allied-control-zone-government-publications.pdf

The High Commission took its seat at the Hotel Petersberg and became active as of 21 September 1949. It ceased to function under the terms of the Treaties of Paris on 5 May 1955.

Tags: Allied Control Council, Allied High Commission, Allied Kommandatura, Allierte Hohe Kommission, Berlin, Berlin Airlift, Germany, Hotel Petersberg, Occupation Statute of Germany
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Allied High Commission governs Germany

Petersberg Agreement

Monday, October 10th, 2016

The Petersberg Agreement (Petersberg Abkommen) of 22 November 1949 was an accord between the three Allied High Commissioners (representatives of the United States, Great Britain and France) and the chancellor of West Germany. The agreement expanded the rights of the German Federal government. The rights had been previously defined by the three Western Allies in the Occupation Statute of Germany. The Petersberg Agreement was a first step toward West German sovereignty following the country’s adoption of a post-war democratic constitution on 24 May 1949. The agreement was signed at the Hotel Petersberg http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/hotel-petersberg-germanys-camp-david/. It was signed by Allied High Commissioners John J. McCloy (United States), Brian Hubert Robertson (Great Britain), André François-Poncet (France) and West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer.

The Statute of Occupation of Germany

The Occupation Statute of Germany (Besatzungsstatut) of 10 April 1949 specified the roles and responsibilities of the Allied High Commission and the newly created Federal government of Germany. The statute restricted Germany’s sovereignty and, at the same time, admitted the country into the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan). Based on Occupation Statute, the Western Allies (1) retained the right to keep occupational forces in Germany, (2) to keep complete control over Germany’s disarmament, demilitarization, war reparations, decartelization and coal and steel industry of the Ruhr area and (3) to control certain scientific research, foreign trade and exchange, and foreign affairs. The Statute of Occupation of Germany remained in force until the Treaties of Paris were ratified in 1955.

What did the Petersberg Agreement accomplish?

The Petersberg Agreement relaxed certain aspects of the roles and responsibilities of the Allied High Commission and the Federal government of Germany, as previously laid down in the Statute of Occupation of Germany. http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/pdf/eng/Founding 8 ENG.pdf In accordance with the Petersberg Agreement

West Germany was now permitted to join the Council of Europe as an associate member.
West Germany agreed to sign a bilateral agreement with the U.S. regarding the Marshall Plan.
West Germany agreed to send delegates to the International Authority for the Ruhr, effectively accepting some international control of the Ruhr district.
West Germany agreed to remain demilitarized.
West Germany was permitted to gradually initiate re-establishment of consular relations and international trade.
West Germany agreed to pursue liberty, tolerance and humanity and to eradicate all traces of Nazism from German life and institutions and to halt any revival of totalitarian efforts.
West Germany agreed to take legal action relative to decartelization and monopolistic practices according to the Occupation Statute.
West Germany was permitted to construct ocean-going ships again, although with restricted capabilities.
Several industrial plants were removed from the industrial dismantling list.
West Germany requested to end the state of war. The request was noted but denied.

Tags: Allied High Commissioners, Besatzungsstatut, Marshall Plan, Petersberg Abkommen, Petersberg Agreement, Statute of Occupation of Germany
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Petersberg Agreement

Hotel Petersberg – Germany’s Camp David

Monday, October 3rd, 2016

The stately Hotel Petersberg is located on a mountaintop by the same name in Germany’s Siebengebirge across the river from the city of Bonn. It was the German equivalent of Camp David prior to Germany’s reunification. The hotel, with a long and colorful history, is open to the public. Since 1990 the 5-Star hotel is operated by the Steigenberger chain under the name “Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg.” Although still owned by the government, nowadays it rarely serves as Germany’s Bundesgaestehaus (Federal Guesthouse).

Aerial view of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg complex. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Pre-World War II History of Hotel Petersberg

Joseph Ludwig Mertens, a Cologne merchant, purchased the picturesque mountaintop area in 1834 and constructed his summer residence on the Petersberg. In 1892, following Mertens’ death, the brothers Paul and Joseph Nelles aquired the property, upgraded it and turned it into an elegant hotel. Among the first dignitaries to stay at the now stylish hotel were Prussian empress Victoria and Swedish Queen Sophie. But despite the noble clientele, the hotel proved unprofitable. And in 1912, Ferdinand Muelhens, owner of the 4711 Eau de Cologne company, acquired it at a foreclosure sale. Following extensive improvements he reopened it as a spa hotel two years later. Although by then financially successful, the hotel was forced to close its doors when World War I broke out and remained closed for the next six years. Following additional remodelling in the 1920s the hotel reopened once more, only to close again at the beginning of World War II.

Post-World-War II History of Hotel Petersberg

In 1945, American Forces confiscated the hotel on the Petersberg and turned it into troop quarters. Shortly thereafter, they handed it to the British Royal Engineers who, in turn, relinquished it to Belgian occupying forces to serve as a recuperation center.

In 1949, following another remodel to accommodate 340 offices, the Allied High Commision (Allierte Hohe Kommission) moved in. It was here that the Petersberg Agreement (Petersberger Abkommen) was signed on 22 November 1949. This was a treaty between the occupying forces of the United States, Great Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany, a the first major step toward West German sovereignty. In June 1952, the Allied High Commission moved to another location. The property reverted to its owners, the Muelhens family, who turned the buildings into a hotel once again to be operated by the Breidenbacher Hof, a luxory hotel in Duesseldorf. Since 1954, the hotel bears the name “Hotel Petersberg.”

Recent History of Hotel Petersberg

In 1954 the German Federal government rented the newly remodelled Hotel Petersberg to serve as a guesthouse for visiting dignitaries, which included Etheopian emperor Haile Selassi and British Queen Elizabeth II. Still unprofitable, the hotel closed again in 1969 and slowly deteriorated until 1973 when Soviet Union’s leader, Leonid Brezhnev, requested to stay at the Hotel Petersberg. Despite a partial restoration to host the Soviet head of state, the hotel soon closed again.

Current use of the Hotel Petersberg

The German Federal Government needed a place in which to host visiting dignitaries. The close proximity of Hotel Petersberg to Bonn, the post-war capital, and its idyllic and secure setting helped to make it the top choice. And in 1979, the German Federal government purchased the 270-acre piece of real estate for 18.5 million Deutsche Marks. After spending an additional 137 million Marks on extensive reconstruction, the Hotel Petersberg reopened in 1990. This time, the Steigenberger hotel chain became the operators. Over the next ten years, most heads of state with diplomatic relations to Germany have stayed at the Hotel Petersberg.

Inside the rotunda of the Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg. www.walled-in-berlin.com

In 1999, following German reunification, government offices moved from Bonn to Berlin, and the Hotel Petersberg was now too far away to continue to serve as a Bundesgaestehaus. Although the German government occasionally still rents it for its guests, Schloss Meseberg, 40 miles north of Berlin, has become Germany’s official guesthouse.

Tags: Allied High Commission, Allierte Hohe Commission, Berlin, Bonn, Bundesgaestehaus, Camp David, Federal Guesthouse, Ferdinand Muelhens, Hotel Petersberg, Joseph Martens, Paul and Joseph Nelles, Petersberg Abkommen, Petersberg Agreement, Schloss Meseberg, Steigenberger Grand Hotel Petersberg
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | No Comments »

Berlin Hauptbahnhof Rail Station

Monday, September 26th, 2016

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof rail station was constructed after the fall of the Berlin Wall as a central rail and transportation hub for the newly reunited city. Construction took 11 years. The station opened in 2006 and is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof. By constructing a new north-south rail line, Berlin Hauptbahnhof supplements the east-west S-Bahn (above ground rapid transit rail).

Berlin Hauptbahnhof rail station. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2016. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Berlin Hauptbahnhof replaces Lehrter Bahnhof

Lehrter Bahnhof (Lehrte Station) was Berlin Hauptbahnhof’s predecessor. Opening in 1871, it linked Berlin with the town of Lehrte near Hanover. Eventually, Lehrter Bahnhof became Germany’s most important east-west main rail line. The station was heavily damaged during the Second World War. Services resumed for a short time but were suspended again in 1951. Between 1957 and 1959, the East German government bulldozed Lehrter Bahnhof.

The State-of-the-Art Berlin Hauptbahnhof

The modern and transparent structure of the Berlin Hauptbahnhof station is made of glass and steel. A glass roof spans the main station hall. A photovoltaic system (a power system which converts sunlight into electricity) is integrated into the surface of the glass and can provide up to 2% of the station’s electricity needs. To bring in as much light as possible, glass is used throughout the station.

Inside Berlin Hauptbahnhof rail station. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2016. www.walled-in-berlin.com

The Berlin Hauptbahnhof station has tracks on two levels, running perpendicular to one another. The upper level of Berlin Hauptbahnhof has six passenger tracks. Two are used by the S-Bahn; the other four serve trains destined to east and west locations. The lower level has eight tracks for trains travelling to north and south locations, including tracks for the U-Bahn (underground rapid transit rail) and the Airport Express. The station entrance is on the middle level for easy street access for rail users arriving by tram, bus, bike or and automobile.

Construction of Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Construction of the Berlin Hauptbahnhof station began with the building of tunnel tubes that would take the trains beneath the Spree River: Four tubes for long distance and regional rail transportation, two tubes for the U-Bahn and one road tunnel. Four of the tubes were created with tunnel boring machines (Schildvortriebsmaschinen). Pre-fabricated tubes were also used. http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/berlin-hauptbahnhof/

Tunnel tubes under construction. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 1998. www.walled-in-berlin.com

To allow for continued sub-surface work, the Spree River had to be temporarily re-channeled.

Construction Difficulties Encountered

Since the tunnels are only 3 1/3 feet below the Spree River, tunneling proved extremely problematic due to the combination of the sandy soil and Berlin’s high water table. Tunneling under and building over the Spree River so close to the still-operating S-Bahn and adjacent landmarks, such as the Reichstag http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/the-reichstag-prominent-berlin-landmark/ and the Brandenburg Gate, created additional hurdles to overcome. Unexploded World War II munitions caused construction delays, and finally, the steel and glass construction of the building itself challenged the engineers. It became even more interesting when they were asked to shorten the glass roofs by approximately 423 feet to reduce costs and speed up construction. Now, that this difficult project is completed, the Berlin Hauptbahnhof is well worth a visit.

Tags: Berlin Hauptbahnhof, Berlin Wall, Lehrter Bahnhof, photovoltaic system, Spree River, tunnel boring machines
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Berlin Hauptbahnhof Rail Station