The first picture is of the square where the famous book burning took place. As I mentioned in a previous post, on the other side of this square is the National library.

A few blocks over is the Brandenburg Gate. The gate that mimicked the entrance to the Acropolis. It was the entrance gate to the city of Berlin and the one that Napoleon made his triumphant entrance to Berlin. After we visited it during the day at the end of the day we went there at midnight to get a photo.

 

 

 

 

This is "Check Point Charlie". An American GI faces the former Soviet sector and a Soviet soldier faces the former American sector. At one point during the cold war tanks from both sides were facing each other waiting for the order to shoot.

The building you see is the guard house used. It has now become a hugh tourist attraction.

 

 

 

 

Behind the wall are the ruins of the SS headquarters. As you walk around the wall you take some stairs to what is left of the basement where prisoners were kept and tortured. It is now an exhibit. You see from the next picture it is called the Topagraphy of Terror. The exhibit emphasizes the importance of the "pencil pushers" who without their positions, plans, and directives the Holocaust couldn't have happened. They were the ones from their desks that organized the alienation and death of the Jews and others.
You will see the organizational chart of the different government departments. It was very systematic!
Our guide was Thorston. One of his jobs is working at the Jewish museum in Berlin. You will see that later. He is finishing his Doctorit and his knowledge of the Holocaust was amazing. Our guides we college professors and their classrooms were Germany and Poland, who could ask for anything more?

 

 

 

The line you see down the middle of the road is a marker where the Berlin Wall was. This is one of the straight sections. All over Berlin, you will find bricks like this that show where the wall was.
The next picture is of the head quarters of the Luftwaffe. It is the building that is behind the wall. It was one of the few building that wasn't destroyed in WWII. It is still used by the German government today.

This section of Berlin was the seat of the government building that held the different government departments. As Hitler took over power in 1933 the Nazi party began to take over each of the former government buildings. This includes the different security groups.

Behind this section of the Berlin Wall are the ruins of the SS building and a large field. This is now a exhibit that is visited by thousands

Berlin Wall

 

This is ta section of the Berlin wall. Our hotel was right around the corner from this section of the Berlin wall.
I had the impression that the wall was like a straight line that ran through the city. What was a total surprise was that the wall in many places was like a zig-zag pattern. If you walked in one dirsction you could cross the line and be in West Berlin take a few steps and then be in East Berlin. Crazy!

 

The group of eductors waitng to board the plain for Germeny

Wednesday am

Arrived home Monday night. After about 10-11 hours on the plan it felt to good to move around. I will be posting some of my pictures with captions over the next few days.
It is very strange to be home and have to think about getting the garbage out and running to the store. I definitely prefer to be traveling!