Berlin Archives - Walled In Berlin

Posts Tagged ‘Berlin’

Learning from the Soviet Union is Learning to Win

Monday, September 19th, 2022

“Von der Sovietunion lernen heisst siegen lernen” the inscription reads (Learning from the Soviet Union is learning to win).” The German words are chiseled into a plaque at the foot of a large bronze that stands in the open field that surrounds the Military History Museum at Gatow airport in Berlin, Germany.

History of the Statue

Created in 1970 by East German sculptor, Gerhard Thieme, and commissioned by the command of the air defense of the National People’s Army of East Germany, the sculpture stood in Strausberg, a city east of Berlin, until 1994. Four years after German re-unification, it was relocated to its current location.

Meaning of the motto “Learning from the Soviet Union is Learning to Win”

Named “Waffenbrueder” (Brothers in Arms), the statue depicts two men: A Soviet comrade and a German pilot or astronaut. Judging from the body language, the Soviet brother is explaining something. In the 1970s when the bronze was created, East German leadership often portrayed East Germany as the little brother in awe to its big brother, the Soviet Union. “Learning from the Soviet Union means learning to win” was an East German doctrine until Mikhail Gorbachev came into power.

Created by East German sculptor Gerhard Thieme, the Waffenbrueder statue depicts the little East German brother learning from his big brother, the Soviet Union. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

My reaction to the Brothers in Arms statue

When I saw the bronze for the first time, twenty years after German re-unification, I scoffed at the slogan. “Learning from the Soviet Union is learning to win” is pure propaganda, I thought. I had grown up in West Berlin during the Cold War and was inoculated against communist propaganda at an early age. Hadn’t the East German leadership maintained that East Germany’s standard of living would exceed West Germany’s living conditions in short order? Hadn’t they proclaimed that the goals of each successive five-year economic plan had not only been met but had been exceeded every time? All lies. In reality, the East German state was close to bankruptcy and completely collapsed in 1989.

We need more critical thinkers

While I was inoculated against East German propaganda since I was a little girl, I never noticed, until years later, that the West promulgated its own propaganda, and West Berliners saw in America their big brother. Years later, American propaganda moved to a whole new level when ex-president Trump spread lies about his election loss and many believed them. Regardless of the political system, leaders often activate the propaganda machine to influence the citizens. Only a population of critical thinkers, rather than followers, can thwart those efforts.

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: Berlin, Gatow Airport, Gerhard Thieme, Learning from the Soviet Union is Learning to Win, Military History Museum, propaganda, Waffenbrueder sculpture
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Learning from the Soviet Union is Learning to Win

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
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Berlin’s Rotes Rathaus – Red City Hall

Berlin’s Titania-Palast has a glorious past

Monday, May 17th, 2021

Berlin’s Titania-Palast is one of the few remaining cinemas in Berlin that dates back to the days of silent movies and the early days of sound film. The theater opened on 26 January 1928 and accommodated an audience of 2,000. Its large Art Deco foyer, red velour-covered walls and gilded elements imparted a feeling of elegance and sophistication. Louis Armstrong, Josephine Baker, Maurice Chevalier, Marlene Dietrich, Zarah Leander, Yehudi Menuhin and Hank Williams were among the world-class stars who performed here.

The cinema of the past

Initially, Berlin’s Titania-Palast showed only silent movies, accompanied by an orchestra of up to 60 musicians. But already one-and-a-half years later, the first sound film, “The Singing Fool” flickered on the screen.

The building survived World War II unscathed. While prior to World War II, visitors had enjoyed movies, theater performance and film screenings, post-war the Titania-Palast became an important center of the social and cultural life in Berlin. It was here that the Berlin Philharmonie gave its first post-war concert in 1945. It was here that the Free University was founded in 1948. It was here that the Berlinale, a renowned annual film festival, was founded in 1951. And it was here that the Insulaner, a prominent cabaret group, frequently performed.

After the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and the rising popularity of television, the number of visitors to the Titania-Palast steadily declined. Berlin’s Titania-Palast went broke. In 1966, the Berlin Electrical Works leased part of the building. Retail shops leased the remainder.

Berlin’s Titania-Palast today

For 30 years, only the 1920s façade was a reminder that the cinema had seen better days. In 1995, the building was completed gutted and remodeled to include seven projection halls. But that is where the similarity between the old and the new Titania-Palast ends. The stately building is a cinema once again, but just like Café Kranzler, today’s Titania-Palast shares only its name with the once glamorous cinema.

Berlin’s Titania-Palast has a glorious past. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Tags: Berlin, Berlinale, first sound movies, Free University Berlin, Insulaner, silent movies, Titania Palast
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Berlin’s Titania-Palast has a glorious past

Classical Architecture – Embraced by Trump and Hitler

Monday, March 16th, 2020

In 1937, Adolf Hitler announced that henceforth all new government buildings were to be constructed in the style of traditional classical architecture. The mandate was part of Hitler’s grandiose plan of transforming Berlin into “the capital of the world.” Hitler named his utopian city Germania. In this new metropolis, German government buildings were to rival the edifices of ancient Egypt, Babylon, Rome and Athens.

In early February 2020, word got out that the Trump administration was working on an Executive Order to impose classical architecture on all new U.S. Federal buildings. According to Trump, these traditional style buildings will “once again inspire respect instead of bewilderment or repugnance.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/opinion/letters/federal-architecture.html

Is this Trump’s first step toward Trumponia?

Hitler’s model of Germania, a metropolis full of classical architecture (the concept never materialized). Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2017. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Tags: Adolf Hitler, Berlin, classical style architecture, Donald Trump, Germania, Trumponia
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Classical Architecture – Embraced by Trump and Hitler

Gatow Airport Played Key Role in Berlin Airlift

Monday, November 25th, 2019

Did you know that Berlin’s Gatow Airport handled more than one-third of all Berlin Airlift flights? The credit usually goes to Tempelhof Airport alone, but in fact, three airports were involved in the Berlin Airlift: Berlin-Tempelhof in the American sector, Berlin-Gatow in the British sector and Berlin-Tegel in the French Sector.

Militaer Historisches Museum – Berlin Gatow, Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Reason for the Berlin Airlift

At the end of World War II, Germany and Berlin were divided into four occupation sectors: American, British, French and Russian. Berlin ended up deep within the Soviet zone. As part of the 1945 Potsdam Agreement, the three western Allies had negotiated free access from their West German occupation zones to their respective sectors of Berlin. In 1948, contrary to this agreement, the Soviets blocked all land and water access to West Berlin. The three Western Allies continued to support West Berlin and flew in all coal, food, and medications. The operation was known as the Berlin Airlift. Soon, an Allied plane landed every three minutes. Eleven months later, the Soviets called off the Berlin Blockade.

Gatow Airport’s Role During the Berlin Airlift

The very first planes to fly supplies into West Berlin landed at Gatow Airport, starting on 18 June 1948. Flights landed at Tempelhof Airport starting on 26 June 1948, and flights to Tegel Airport started on 5 November 1948. Both, Gatow and Tempelhof were high-tech airfields and among the first in the world to be equipped with a radar system to support ground-controlled approaches. At the time the Berlin Airlift started, two of Gatow’s runways were already in operation. A third one would be constructed shortly. Altogether, Gatow Airport handled more than 115,000 airlift flights out of a total of almost 278,000 flight to all three West Berlin airports combined.

History of Gatow Airfield

The Gatow airfield was originally constructed in 1934 and 1935 by the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force. Towards the end of World War II, advancing Red Army troops occupied the airport. Following the division of Berlin, the Soviet forces relinquished the field to the British forces in exchange for a locality at the western edge of Berlin.

Many different types of aircraft landed at Gatow Airport. Conventional transport aircraft brought coal, food and other goods. Bomber aircraft converted into tankers delivered fuels. The nearby Havel River was used as runway for flying boats. On their return flights some planes took passengers aboard. Almost 7,500 sick and undernourished children were flown from Gatow to West Germany via these flying boats.

Escapes to Gatow from East Germany

At least three successful escapes were made from East Germany to Gatow: On 7 April 1978 and 15 July 1987, a total of three East Germans defected by flying light aircrafts. Both planes were dismantled and returned to East Germany. On 24 June 1979, an East German pilot defected in a glider and landed at Gatow. The sailplane was handed back to East Germany at the Glienicke Bridge, the bridge of spies.

Today’s Use of the Airfield

Following German reunification, the British Royal Air Force stopped using Gatow Airport and handed it back to the German Armed Forces in 1994. Thereafter, the airfield was closed and the runways were cut in half. The western half became home to a housing project, and the eastern half houses the Militaer Historisches Museum, a branch of the German Armed Forces Military Museum.

Tags: Berlin, Berlin Airlift, Berlin Blockade, Gatow Airport, German Armed Forces Military Museum, Glienicke Bridge, Luftwaffe, Militaer Historisches Museum, Potsdam Agreement, Tegel Airport, Tempelhof Airport
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Gatow Airport Played Key Role in Berlin Airlift

One More Berliner Weisse Before Summer Ends

Monday, September 30th, 2019

Berliner Weisse, only available in the summer, is a delicious thirst-quencher. Among wheat beers, it is in a class of its own. Napoleon fell in love with this beverage when he conquered Europe during the first part of the 19th century and is said to have referred to it as the Champagne of the North.”

This refreshingly tangy beverage is light, carbonated and has a low alcohol content. Its unique sour taste results from fermenting with a combination of yeast and lactobacillus bacteria. That’s right, these are the same”friendly” bacteria that live in our digestive, urinary, and genital systems and are found in yoghurt. And as we already know, lactobacillus bacteria are extremely healthful and good for the digestion.

Origin of Berliner Weisse

The exact origin of Berliner Weisse is unknown. Most likely, this delicious light wheat beer does come to us from Berlin, Germany, as the name suggests. And quite possibly, its production goes back to the Huguenots. These French Protestants – largely Calvinists – suffered severe persecution at the hands of the Catholic majority in France and Switzerland during the 16^thand 17^thcenturies. Thousands of them emigrated from their homelands, and many resettled in the Brandenburg area of Germany.

Where Weisse is Produced Today

Only two breweries in Germany still produce Berliner Weisse: Schultheiss Brauerei GmbH and Berliner Kindl Brauerei AG. The brewers at Berliner Kindl have developed a method, which omits bottle fermentation and allows the beer to mature in pressurized tanks.

Berliner Kindl logo in Berlin, Germany. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

These days, Berliner Weisse (sometimes called “Berlin White” in the United States) is also produced by a number of U.S. breweries.

Difference between Pale Ale and Berliner Weisse

American pale ales are predominantly top-fermented (warm fermented) and made with pale malt. https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/Vvte2fIth4/ The result is a strong hoppy flavor with a slightly bitter taste and an alcohol content by volume of anywhere between 4.5% and 9%. Berliner Weisse, on the other hand, is typically light in flavor, low in hops and tastes slightly yeasty. It is made with wheat malt as well as barley malt, and its alcohol content rarely exceeds 4%.

Berliner Weisse mit Schuss

In Berlin, it is common to drink Berliner Weisse mit Schuss (Weisse with a shot). The shot typically consists of a splash of raspberry or woodruff syrup. Woodruff is a small medicinal plant that grows in the woods and has a vanilla-like flavor. It is not well known in the United States. A classic Berliner Weisse is enjoyed from a special glass and sipped with a straw. If you can’t decide on the flavor, just order an Ampel (a traffic light), and the waiter will bring three small glasses of Weisse: One is filled with plain Weisse, one with Weisse with raspberry syrup, and a third one with Weisse with woodruff syrup.

Berliner Weisse mit Schuss (one with raspberry one with woodruff flavor) www.walled-in-berlin.com

Na denn PROST!

Tags: Ampel, Berlin, Berliner Kindl Brauerei AG, Berliner Weisse, Champagne of the North, Huguenots, lactobacillus bacteria, Schultheiss Brauerei GmbH, Weisse mit Schuss. woodruff, wheat beer
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on One More Berliner Weisse Before Summer Ends

Berlin’s Tiergarten – From Hunting Ground to Public Park

Monday, July 22nd, 2019

The German name Tiergarten translates to “animal garden,” but despite the name, it is not a zoo. Instead, it is Berlin’s second-biggest inner-city park. Only Tempelhofer Freiheit, the former Tempelhof Airport expanse, is larger. The 520-acre Tiergarten serves the same “green lung” function as London’s Hyde Park (310 acres) or New York’s Central Park (825 acres).

Relaxing in Berlin’s Tiergarten. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Friedrich I of Prussia (Frederick I), Elector of Brandenburg and later first King of Prussia, laid out the park in the 17th century. At that time, the land was located just outside of Coelln’s city wall, Berlin’s twin city. Today – redesigned and expanded several times – the Tiergarten is bordered by the River Spree to the northeast and the zoo to the southwest. It’s ideal for recharging. Small streams pass through grassy areas dotted with groups of trees and small lakes. Countless pathways cross the park and make it a popular place for jogging, cycling, boating, walking, family picnics and winter skating.

Royal History of the Tiergarten

Until 1881, the Tiergarten was owned and controlled by the various kings and emperors in power. Friedrich I (Frederick I) created the park to serve as his royal hunting ground. His successor, Friedrich Wilhelm I (Frederick William I of Prussia) began to transform the Tiergarten into a forested park. His son, Friedrich II, also known as Frederick the Great, (Frederick the Great) opened the area to the public. He commissioned many sculptures and created a pheasant house. The latter eventually became the core of the Berlin Zoo.

The Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart Memorial – one of many statues in Berlin’s Tiergarten. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

The Tiergarten in the 20^thCentury

WWII brought significant changes to the Tiergarten. Many statues were destroyed, and surviving monuments lay badly damaged on their sides. Berlin’s citizens even buried some of them near Bellevue Palace to protect them from destruction. In 1993, the statues were recovered, several years after German reunification.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Tiergarten became part of the British Occupation Zone of West Berlin. Because coal was in extremely short supply at the time, many of the park’s trees were turned to firewood. Every bridge in the park was destroyed, and there were plans to fill the small lakes with war debris. Only 700 trees survived. For a time, the deforested fields were turned into 2,550 plots of farm land to grow potatoes and vegetables. The once beautiful forest of over 200,000 trees had nearly disappeared.

Replanting the Tiergarten

In March 1949, Berlin’s first post-war major, Ernst Reuter, planted the first tree, a linden. Between 1949 and 1959, 250,000 young trees were planted. Most of them were donations from all over Germany. Thanks to those efforts, the Tiergarten is once again a green oasis in the middle of bustling Berlin.

Tags: Beethoven-Haydn-Mozart Memorial, Berlin, Ernst Reuter, Frederick I, Frederick II, Frederick the Great, Frederick William I, Friedrich der Grosse, Friedrich I, Friedrich II, Friedrich Wilhelm I, Tempelhof Airport, Tempelhofer Freiheit, Tiergarten
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Berlin’s Tiergarten – From Hunting Ground to Public Park

Unter Den Linden – Berlin’s Grandest Boulevard

Monday, July 8th, 2019

Unter Den Linden (Under the Linden Trees) is Berlin’s grandest boulevard. It is located in the historic heart of the city and named for the 1,000 linden trees in its spacious pedestrian median and along both sidewalks. Friedrich Wilhelm I (Frederick William I), Elector of Brandenburg and later King of Prussia, originally planted the trees in the 17th century. But in the 1930s, Adolf Hitler had most of them cut down and replaced with Nazi flags. Following a public outcry, he had them replanted. Nonetheless, during World War II, the trees were either destroyed or cut down for firewood. The present-day linden were planted in the 1950s.

Under den Linden – Berlin’s grandest boulevard with the Brandenburg Gate in the background. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019. www.walled-in-berlin.com

History of Unter Den Linden

Unter den Linden stretches from the Brandenburg Gate to the Berlin City Palace (Berliner Stadtschloss). The famous boulevard began as an equestrian trail in the 16^thcentury to allow prince-elector Johann Georg (John George) of the Margraviate of Brandenburg to reach his hunting grounds in the Tiergarten. In the middle of the 17th century, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia replaced that equestrian trail with a stately tree-lined boulevard.

Unter den Linden anchors

The Brandenburg Gate stands at the western boundary of Unter den Linden. Of the original fourteen city gates it is the only one that survived the ravages of time. During the Cold War, the Brandenburg Gate became a symbol of freedom. At the eastern end of Unter den Linden stands the City Palace, currently under reconstruction and slated for completion in 2020.

Points of Interest along Unter den Linden

Located immediately east of the Brandenburg Gate is the Pariser Platz (Paris Square). It was heavily bombed during World War II and became a no-man’s-land during the Cold War. But since German reunification in 1990, its pre-WWII embassies, hotels and banks have returned, including the famous Hotel Adlon. Further down Unter den Linden you’ll see the restored Berlin State Library, the renowned Humboldt University, the Bebelplatz (site of the infamous Nazi book burning in 1933), the State Opera, the Catholic St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, the German History Museum, the Neue Wache (now the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship) and the Berliner Dom.

Tags: Bebelplatz, Berlin, Berliner Dom, Berliner Stadtschloss, Brandenburg Gate, Frederick William I of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm I, German reunification, Hotel Adllon, Margraviate of Brandenburg, Neue Wache, Unter den Linden
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Unter Den Linden – Berlin’s Grandest Boulevard

Berlin mourns loss of advertising columns

Monday, April 15th, 2019

Berlin’s 2,500 outdoor advertising columns, called Litfass Saeulen after their inventor, are slated for the “Litfass Saeulen cemetery” by the end of June 2019. Berliners mourn a long tradition. Just like the city’s old street lights and water pumps, these old-time publicizing columns are a part of Berlin history. They have promoted movies, plays, concerts and other events. Only 50 of Berlin’s current Litfass Saeulen will remain because they are protected under Germany’s cultural preservation law.

Outdoor Advertising Column (Litfass Saeule) in Berlin. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015. www.walled-in-berlin.com

History of Berlin’s Advertising Columns

In the mid-1800s, Berliners routinely hung notices on walls, doors, fences and trees, making the city look untidy. The Berlin printer and publisher Ernst Theodor Amandus Litfass had a solution: Why not erect columns throughout the city to which residents can attach their notices and messages? He approached the police president with his idea and eventually received permission to erect the first 100 outdoor advertising columns. That was in 1854. His columns were a huge success and Litfass added many more over the course of the centuries, becoming a rich man in the process.

Why Berlin’s Advertising Columns Must Now Go

Recently, the city of Berlin modified its method of allocating marketing and advertising rights for public spaces. For many years, Wall GmbH held those rights, and in return, operated Berlin’s public toilets and fountains. As of this year, the city is selling the advertising rights for public spaces and will finance public toilets and fountains from the advertising revenues.

ILG Aussenwerbung GmbH wins the bidding process

In the recent bidding process for outdoor advertising on Litfass Saeulen, Wall GmbH drew the short straw. ILG-Aussenwerbung GmbH won the lottery. https://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article216787283/In-Berlin-beginnt-jetzt-der-grosse-Abriss-der-Litfasssaeulen.htmln Berlin beginnt jetzt der große Abriss der Litfaßsäulen Because the two companies could not agree on how many existing advertising columns could or should be maintained, all of them will be scrapped (save the 50 protected ones). The new operator expects to install up 1,500 new columns this year and to add an additional 1,000 over the course of the next three to five years. Removal, by the way, will run several million Euros because some of the existing pillars contain asbestos.

Good-Bye to Berlin’s Advertising Columns

Advertising on the existing advertising columns ceased already several weeks ago. While Wall GmbH is busy ripping them out like dead tree stumps, the temporarily remaining pillars await their fate dressed only in plain red, blue or yellow paper. They look like headstones in a cemetery because mourning Berliners have scribbled their good-byes on the bright paper.

Tags: Berlin, Ernst Theodor Amandus Litfass, ILG Aussenwerbung GmbH, Litfass Saeulen, outdoor advertising columns, Wall GmbH
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on Berlin mourns loss of advertising columns

“Who is Kilroy,” asked Joseph Stalin

Monday, January 21st, 2019

In 1945, while Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill attended the Potsdam Conference in Berlin, Stalin had to use the outhouse. It had been constructed solely for use by the “Three Greats”. Once inside the privy, Stalin saw a big nose, small eyes and small hands chalked on the wall. The nose seemed to peer over a barricade. Next to the doodle stood three words: “KILROY WAS HERE.” Perplexed Stalin asked his aide, “Who is Kilroy?”

James J. Kilroy wrote “KILROY WAS HERE” next to the blocks of rivets he had inspected. Graphic J. Elke Ertle, 2018. www.walled-in-Berlin.com

Although I can’t vouch for the accuracy of this account, it is a fact that during and after World War II someone by the name of Kilroy seemed to have been just about everywhere. On top of that, he seemed to have been there before anyone else. Who was he and how was this possible?

Who was Kilroy?

James J. Kilroy is not a fictional character. He was an inspector at the Bethlehem Steel Company’s Quincy shipyard in Massachusetts during World War II. His job was to check the number of rivets properly completed on the troop ships the shipyard produced. Riveting was a paid on a piecework basis. The more rivets completed, the bigger the riveters’ paychecks. Kilroy got into the habit of placing a chalk mark next to each block of completed rivets on the bulkheads of the ships to indicate that he had inspected them. When Kilroy was off duty, however, the riveters sometimes erased his marks. The next shift’s inspector, not seeing any marks, would count the rivets for the second time, which meant double pay for the riveters. When Kilroy suspected the ruse, he began adding “KILROY WAS HERE” next to his check mark.

How did Kilroy get to be everywhere?

Because of the war, the ships left the shipyard as soon as construction was completed, which left no time to paint over Kilroy’s inspection marks. Thousands of U.S. sailors boarded the ships. At first, the servicemen wondered what the Kilroy illustration meant. As a joke, they scribbled KILROY WAS HERE wherever they landed. As a result, before war’s end Kilroy supposedly had been here, there and everywhere in Europe and in the South Pacific. Servicemen challenged each other to place the enigma in the most unlikely places, such as on the top of Mt. Everest, the Statue of Liberty, underneath the Arc de Triomphe, on the Berlin Wall and just maybe even inside the outhouse used by the “Three Greats”during the Potsdam Conference. Somewhere along line, and it is still not entirely clear when it started, the words became associated with a nose peeking over a barrier. They came to imply, “Kilroy is watching you.”

Will the Real James J. Kilroy please step forward?

The origin of the graphic remained a riddle until the American Transit Association sponsored a nationwide contest in 1946 to located the real Kilroy. Nearly 40 men came forward claiming to be the man with the long nose peering over the fence. Only James Kilroy from Halifax, Massachusetts, could prove his identity. Although he was the originator of the words, KILROY WAS HERE, he did not add the graphic of the nose peeking over the fence.

Tags: Berlin, Bethlehem Steel Company, James J. Kilroy, Joseph Stalin, Kilroy was here, Potsdam conference, World War II
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Tête-à-Tête, Walled In Berlin | Comments Off on “Who is Kilroy,” asked Joseph Stalin