I was once again in the capital - the reason for my visit was actually to see a performance by Shen Yun at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Once again, it was a unique experience. The opera and theater atmosphere is very familiar to me; I feel at home when I sit in an opera or theater hall and can immerse myself in worlds beyond everyday life. I would highly recommend a visit to the theater to every reader - you should see Shen Yun once in your life. Here is the trailer 25 as a little appetizer.

Berlin would be far too good to leave behind - simply wasting time outside of the show was out of the question for me. So I put together a small supporting program for myself and my fellow travellers to immerse ourselves in the world of this metropolis. Quite by chance, we met Richard David Precht, Bela B (Die Ärzte) and a few other well-known personalities - but that was only in passing. Our route took us into the past: to the memorial of the book burning on May 10, 1933.

“The memorial to the book burning is a memorial on Bebelplatz in the center of Berlin next to the street Unter den Linden. Erected in 1995, the memorial commemorates the burning of books on this square in May 1933.” (See: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denkmal_zur_Erinnerung_an_die_B%C3%BCcherverbrennung.)

“That was just a prelude, there
where you burn books,
you end up burning people too.”

(Heinrich Heine 1820)

I really enjoy reading Heinrich Heine. In this context, I would like to refer to my self-composed song “Deutschland - ein Trauermärchen”, which refers to Heine's “Deutschland. A Winter's Tale”. You can find it on my GJW channel: https://www.ganjingworld.com/s/o8n03mmjzJ

Unlike back then - May 10, 1933 - I bought books in Berlin again this time. I often can't resist when I come across a book that piques my interest. So, not far from the memorial to the book burning, I set a small example for books - and I am very grateful not to have had to live through that time in 1933.

If you are interested in the period around 1933 and the literary context in Berlin - books, authors, intellectuals - I can highly recommend the book “February 33: The Winter of Literature” by Uwe Wittstock: https://www.chbeck.de/wittstock-februar-33/product/32447676

And these are the books I picked up - perhaps someone of you knows one of these works? If so, I'd be delighted to receive a comment!

And Bettina gave me the following book as a little surprise - I'm already busy reading it: Walter Benjamin - Stadt des Flaneurs - Berliner Orte.

Just opposite the memorial to the book burning is the Neue Wache - the Federal Republic of Germany's central memorial to the victims of war and tyranny. (See: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neue_Wache)

Unfortunately, I believe that we as humans - we as a people - forget far too quickly. Forgiving is infinitely difficult for us, but forgetting happens almost automatically. I would prefer it the other way around.

But Unter den Linden is a long street - and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz is just a stone's throw away. It's well worth taking a look inside the building. Here are my impressions for you.

See: Staatsbibliothek Unter den Linden: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staatsbibliothek_Unter_den_Linden

On my tour, I also took my fellow travelers to the hotel The Westin Grand Berlin (formerly Grand Hotel Berlin, see: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Westin_Grand_Berlin). Heiner Müller (see: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heiner_M%C3%BCller) often stayed here - and there are a few nice quotes from him:

“Not to change Brecht is to betray him.”

“Geniuses don't come in packs.”

“Of course ten Germans are dumber than five Germans.”

“And for me, the function of art is to make reality impossible.”

“The hotel, located directly on the corner of Unter den Linden and Friedrichstrasse, has often served as a location and backdrop for film and television shoots.”

“Matt Damon and Franka Potente filmed key scenes from their hit movie “The Bourne Conspiracy” here, transforming the Westin Grand into a Hollywood movie set for a good week.” (See: https://about.visitberlin.de/westin-grand-berlin.)

Those in the know will recognize from Heiner Müller's Grand Hotel Berlin that the theme of the GDR also resonates here. And the very first quote mentions the name Bertolt Brecht - also closely associated with the GDR.

The GDR is one of the great themes of my life. I still try to understand it today - unfortunately, I only partially succeed. That's why I keep visiting places that remind me of that time, of that regime: to understand - and not to forget.

Because, as I mentioned above, I have the impression that we are far too good at forgetting and hardly good at forgiving. But we in particular - with our special responsibility in Europe - would be well advised to practise forgiveness better.

A visit to the Palace of Tears in Berlin (see: https://www.hdg.de/traenenpalast) was therefore a fixed part of our program.

Afterwards we went to the DDR Museum: https://www.ddr-museum.de/de

“Those who do not know the past cannot understand the present and cannot shape the future.”
(Helmut Kohl)

Die Weltbühne - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Weltb%C3%BChne “... in December 1926, Kurt Tucholsky took over the management of the paper ...” From here we move on to the Berliner Ensemble and Brecht: Bertolt Brecht was active at the Berliner Ensemble from 1949 until his death in 1956. He founded it in 1949 together with his wife Helene Weigel, who later took over as director.

And so Friedrich Schiller rounded off this visit in a freedom-loving way - at the Schiller monument on the Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin.

Sapere aude!

S. Noir

The link to the original German text: https://www.ganjingworld.com/s/q8Vn4Y3en2