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Archive for the ‘Walled In Berlin’ Category

the three R’s

Monday, January 20th, 2014

Follow the three R’s: Respect for self; respect for others, and responsibility for all your actions.

–Dali Lama

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: Dali Lama, respect, responsibility
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Hotel Adlon Part 1

Thursday, January 16th, 2014

The palatial Hotel Adlon, located only steps east of the famous Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin, Germany, has a fascinating history. Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) – Second German Television – aired a three-part family saga early last year about the hotel, its owners, and its guests (some fictional characters are also included). The series covers the period between the last German Empire and the Berlin Wall.

Hotel Adlon’s beginnings

In 1905, Lorenz Adlon, a successful wine merchant and coffee shop owner, purchased a prime piece of land in the heart of Berlin. The property was located next to the British Embassy in the Wilhelmstrasse and faced the French and American Embassies on Pariser Platz. Important government offices stood only blocks away. Lorenz Adlon chose this desirable location to build an opulent hotel. It opened on 23 October 1907. Its address was Unter den Linden 1. Hotel Adlon soon became one of Europe’s most renowned establishments.

Hotel Adlon’s famous guests

The Adlon quickly became the social center of Berlin. Inside, its accommodations were the most up-to-date in all of Germany at the time. The hotel offered hot and cold running water and had its own electricity-generating power plant. In the hotel’s early years, many of the rich and famous, including Emperor Willhem II, the Tsar of Russia, the Maharajah of Patiala, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Herbert Hoover, John D. Rockefeller, Enrico Caruso, Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker, Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo frequented it.

Hotel Adlon, 1926
(Bundesarchiv photo)

Hotel Adlon during World War II

But when Hitler came to power in 1933, the Adlon gradually lost its international clientele. It continued to operate throughout World War II, having added a bomb shelter and a brick wall to protect its guest from flying debris. During the final days of the Battle for Berlin, parts of the hotel were converted to a field hospital. However, on the night of 2 May 1945, after all fighting had ceased already, a fire engulfed the Hotel Adlon. Intoxicated Russian soldiers had started the fire in the hotel’s wine cellar. The inferno destroyed most of the building. Only one wing survived.

Also read about the post World War II history of the Hotel Adlon at http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/hotel-adlon-part-2/

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: Battle for Berlin, Brandenburg Gate, Hedda Adlon, Hotel Adlon, Lorenz Adlon, ZDF
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One in a million

Monday, January 13th, 2014

Food for thought:

Everyone tells us to be one in a million… What they don’t tell us is that being one in a million also means being one against a million.

–Saahil Prem

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. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.

Tags: one in a million, Saahil Prem
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Berlin’s Museum Island

Thursday, January 9th, 2014

Berlin’s Museum Island – Museumsinsel – is one of the city’s most visited attractions. Smack in the center of the German capital, it is located in the northern half of an island in the Spree River. In fact, Museum Island occupies the site of Berlin’s former sister city, Coelln. In 1307 Berlin and Coelln merged into a single town and retained only the name of the former. Today, Museum Island forms a complex of five internationally known museums. During World War II, close to 70% of the museum buildings were destroyed. Following the war, the Allies removed some of the collections. The remainder was split between East and West Berlin. Restoration and modernization of the five museums began following German reunification. In 1999, Museum Island was designed a UNESCO National Heritage site.

Pergamon Altar at the Pergamon Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island

Together the five museums on Berlin’s Museum Island cover 6,000 years of culture and history. Artifacts stretch from civilizations of the Ancient Egyptians and the Ancient Middle East to Greek and Roman Antiquity. On exhibit is also Christian and Islamic art of the Middle Ages and European art of the 19th century. The museums house the following treasures:

— Altes Museum (Old Museum) – Greek and Roman art objects on the first floor. Exhibitions held on the second floor.

— Neues Museum (New Museum) – archaeological objects and Egyptian and Etruscan sculptures. They include the bust of Queen Nefertiti.

— Alte Nationalgallerie (Old National Gallery) – 19th century paintings. Upon completion of the restoration program, it is anticipated that the gallery’s painting collection will be moved to the Bode Museum.

— Bode Museum – sculpture collections and late Antique and Byzantine art.

— Pergamon Museum – ancient architecture. It houses a collection of Greek and Babylonian antiquities, including the 6th century BC Ishtar Gate of Babylon and the 2nd century BC Pergamon Altar, and the 2nd century AD Roman Market Gate of Miletus.

Tags: Alte Nationalgallerie, Altes Museum, Bode Museum, Ishtar Gate of Babylon, Market Gate of Miletus, Museum Island in Berlin, Neues Museum, Pergamon Altar, Pergamon Museum, UNESCO National Heritage site
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Mind versus Heart

Monday, January 6th, 2014

Mind versus heart – intellect versus emotion. Powerful players in the human struggle. Sometimes these two forces collaborate. Sometimes they compete. We’d like to think that we have full control over the outcome of these battles when, in fact, we are often quite oblivious to the influences that wrestle within us. The nature of the conflict and of the bias of the individual determine the winner.

One of my favorite quotes–author unknown–goes like this:

“The Mind replays what the heart can’t delete.”

Only a better understanding of the power of these forces leads to control over them. Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom shows us an example of the mind versus heart struggle. Which one, do you think, wins in this memoir?

Tags: control, emotion, heart, human struggle, intellect, mind
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Germanys Unite through Treuhandanstalt

Tuesday, December 31st, 2013

How did the two Germanys unite economically after the fall of the Wall? Through a Treuhandanstalt. West Germany was built on a free market system. East Germany was based on a state planned economy. In order for the two Germanys to reunite after the collapse of East Germany in 1989, a common system had to be created.

Creation of a Treuhandanstalt

In mid-1990, East Germany’s legislature created a trust agency, called Treuhandanstalt, which was to become the legal owner of all state-owned property of the former East Germany. On 3 October 1990, the date of the formal German Unification, this holding company was put in charge of privatizing and restructuring around 14,000 state-owned companies, agricultural lands and forests, public housing, property of the former Ministry for State Security (Stasi), and holdings of the former National People’s Army.

Problems facing the Treuhandanstalt

Most of the factories in East Germany had never been modernized so that their productivity was on par with that of developing countries. Following unification, East Germany products simply were no longer in demand. Only high tech enterprises, such as Jenoptik in Jena, Opel in Eisenach, the steelworks EKO, and the Baltic shipyards were considered profitable enough to be restructured. (www.kalenderblatt.de)

Treuhandanstalt is criticized

The operations of the Treuhandanstalt quickly drew criticism. The agency was accused of unnecessarily closing profitable businesses, misusing or wasting funds, and unnecessarily laying off workers (approximately two-and-a-half million employees in state-owned enterprises were laid off in the early 1990s). Affected workforces protested. Supporters of Treuhandanstalt operations argued that not placing these former state-owned enterprises into private hands would cause the loss of even more jobs and slow down economic recovery.

Treuhandanstalt is disbanded

In the end, the trust agency left debts amounting to 137 billion Euros. On this day in history, on 31 December 1994 the Treuhandanstalt was disbanded.

Tags: German unification, Treuhandanstalt
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Silent Night – a favorite since 1818

Tuesday, December 24th, 2013

The Christmas carol, Silent Night, has been a favorite since 1818. Originally written and sung in German (Stille Nacht – Heilige Nacht), the popular hymn has been translated into nearly 140 languages. It is now heard all over the world and was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO In 2011.

First Introduced

Silent Night was first sung at the St. Nicholas parish in the small Austrian village of Oberndorf near Salzburg. At that time, Oberndorf was a poor community along the Salzach River. Their young parish priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had written the lyrics to Stille Nacht two years earlier in nearby Mariapfarr where he had worked as an assistant. Then, on Christmas Eve in 1818, just hours before the Christmas mass, Father Mohr found himself in a pickle. His plans for the evening service lay in shambles. In the aftermath of a flooding of the Salzach, the church organ no longer worked. Distraught, Father Mohr grabbed his old poem and set off to find Franz Xaver Gruber, the church organist. He prayed fervently that Gruber would be able to create a melody and guitar accompaniment for his poem in time for Christmas mass. Indeed, the organist is said to have composed the melody within a few short hours, and Stille Nacht was sung that night. Gruber had composed a lively tune in 6/8 time. http://www.kalenderblatt.de

Then Forgotten

Thereafter, Silent Night was forgotten. Six years later, an organ builder found the score again and took it home. But it wasn’t until 1831, that Stille Nacht quickly gained in popularity. After it was sung in Leipzig, Germany, the German Kaiser, Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, had the hymn sung in his castle every year and instructed the royal court orchestra to include it in its repertoire.

Silent Night during the Christmas truce of 1914

In 1859, the Episcopalian bishop, John Freeman Young, published the English translation, although today, we sing only three of the original six verses. Silent Night was sung simultaneously in French, English and German by the troops during the Christmas truce of 1914 during World War I. It was the only carol that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew.

Silent night, Holy night! – Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!

All is calm, all is bright – Alles schlaeft, einsam wacht

Round yon virgin, mother and child – Nur das traute hochheilige Paar

Holy infant so tender and mild – Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar

Sleep in heavenly peace – Schlaf in seliger Ruh!

Silent night, Holy night! – Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!

Shepherds quake at the sight. -Hirten erst kundgemacht

Silent night, Holy night! – Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!

Glories stream from Heaven afar – Durch der Engel halleluja

Heavenly hosts sing hallelujah – Toent es laut von fern und nah

Christ the Savior is born – Christ, der Retter is da!

Silent night, Holy night! – Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht!

Son of God, love’s pure light – Gottes Sohn o wie lacht

Radiant beams from thy holy face – Lieb aus deinem goettlichen Mund

With the dawn of redeeming grace – Da uns schlaegt die rettende Stund’

Jesus, Lord at thy birth – Christ in deiner Geburt

Tags: Christmas carol, Christmas truce of 1914, Father Joseph Mohr, Franz Xaver Gruber, John Freeman Young, Oberndorf, Stille Nacht- heilige Nacht, UNESCO cultural heritage
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Be Yourself!

Monday, December 23rd, 2013

“Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself & the right people will love the real you.”

— Unknown

Tags: be yourself, change, real you
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | No Comments »

Christmas Tree tradition is German

Monday, December 16th, 2013

Did you know that our Christmas tree tradition is German? The pagan custom dates back to the days before Christianity. As early as in the 16th century, people in Germany are said to have brought decorated trees into their homes. The Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, is credited with having added lighted candles. German immigrants eventually brought their tradition to the U.S. where the first recorded Christmas tree was displayed in Pennsylvania in the 1830s. But because of its pagan origin, most Americans did not adopt the tradition until the 20th century.

Beginning of the Tradition in Europe

Long before Christianity, plants and trees that stayed green all year had special meaning Europeans. People believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick. When plants greened again in spring and summer, they thought the sun god had recovered. To keep him healthy though out the year, people hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. Others built pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens.

Puritans rally against the Christmas tree

New England’s Puritans tried hard to eradicate the old pagan tradition of decorating trees. Throughout the 18th century, they forbade any Christmas tradition that wasn’t a church service. But by the 19th century, the influx of German and Irish immigrants had weakened their efforts.

The Christmas Tree during Queen Victoria

In 1846, Queen Victoria of England, her German Prince, Albert, and their family were sketched in a London journal standing around a Christmas tree. Since the queen was immensely popular, Britain’s subjects as well as America’s East Coast Society imitated the custom.

The Christmas Tree Tradition came from Germany

Our Christmas Tree Tradition came from Germany

The American Christmas Tree Tradition

In the early 20th century, German-Americans continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies to decorate their trees. Americans used homemade ornaments. Soon popcorn, interlaced with berries and nuts, became fashionable. And after then arrival of electricity, lit Christmas trees appeared in town squares across the country. Today, the German Christmas Tree tradition has become an American tradition as well.

Tags: Christmas tree, German immigrants, Martin Luther, pagan custom, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria
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Hitler and Roosevelt

Wednesday, December 11th, 2013

Hitler and Roosevelt: a dictator and a democrat. What do the two men have in common? Both came to power in the beginning of 1933. Both died in April 1945. But that’s where the parallels end. One led Western Europe to the brink of destruction, the other returned it to the path to freedom.

72 years ago today, on 11 December 1941, the German Empire declared war on the USA. To this day, historians speculate what made Hitler declare war on America. Four days earlier, Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. The following day, the US Senate and House of Representatives declared war on Japan. It could not be known at the time that what happened in Pearl Harbor would change what was going to happen in Western Europe.

Americans oppose US intervention

Until Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had secretly debated how to depose Adolf Hitler. But the majority of Americans wanted the US remain neutral in the European war. After Kristallnacht – Night of Broken Glass – in November of 1938, Hitler’s invasion of the Czech Republic and of Poland, public opinion began to change although the majority of Americans still opposed US intervention. And following the attack on Pearl Harbor the eyes of the American public were directed toward Japan.

Hitler is delighted

At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, German troops were stuck in the snow in front of Moscow. The Red Army had begun a powerful offensive. The news of Pearl Harbor caught Hitler by surprise, but he saw an opportunity. He suspected that the U.S. would now focus all of their armament and military power against Japan and reduce or eliminate their support for the United Kingdom. If he employed his submarines, he may win against England.

Historians speculate

The historian, Alan Bullock, suspects that Hitler felt he had to demonstrate after the defeat of his troops in the east. Sebastian Haffner called it a simple act of madness. Hitler biographer, Ian Kershaw, says “It was in Hitler’s eyes the chance to win against England.” Together with Japan, Hitler hoped to not only control the European continent, but to also bring the US to its knees. In his 2011 book, Roosevelt and Hitler: Todfeindschaft und Totaler Krieg, Washington historian, Ronald D. Barley, surmises, “as paradoxical as it sounds the fact that Hitler declared war on the US on December 11, 1941, forged the path to freedom for Western Europe.” For additional information, visit www.zeit.de (Zweiter Weltkrieg: Krieg gegen America)

Tags: Adolph Hitler, Alan Bullock, attack on Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ian Kershaw, Kristallnacht, Ronald D. Barley, Sebastian Haffner
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Archive for the ‘Walled In Berlin’ Category

the three R’s

Hotel Adlon Part 1

Hotel Adlon’s beginnings

Hotel Adlon’s famous guests

Hotel Adlon during World War II

One in a million

Berlin’s Museum Island

Mind versus Heart

Germanys Unite through Treuhandanstalt

Creation of a Treuhandanstalt

Problems facing the Treuhandanstalt

Treuhandanstalt is criticized

Treuhandanstalt is disbanded

Silent Night – a favorite since 1818

First Introduced

Then Forgotten

Silent Night during the Christmas truce of 1914

Be Yourself!

Christmas Tree tradition is German

Beginning of the Tradition in Europe

Puritans rally against the Christmas tree

The Christmas Tree during Queen Victoria

The American Christmas Tree Tradition

Hitler and Roosevelt

Americans oppose US intervention

Hitler is delighted

Historians speculate

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