Music is what feelings sound like.
–Anonymous
Music touches the heart, www.walled-in-berlin.com
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 the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com
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.
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.
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.
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.
Father and son on different wave lengths: “When I was your age,” the millionaire bragged to his son, “I carried water for a gang of bricklayers.” The son thoughtfully said, “I am mighty proud of you, Father. If it hadn’t been for your great determination, I might have had to do something like that myself.”
— Anonymous
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.
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
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).
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.
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.
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 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.
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
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.
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
— Albert Camus
Autumn Leaves, photo © J. Elke Ertle, www.walled-in-berlin.com
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 the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com
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
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.
– Harold Kushner
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 the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com
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
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 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 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.
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.
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.
Credibility, like virginity, can only be lost once and never recovered.
— Charley Reese
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.
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