Monthly Archives: February 2022

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Berlin: The tour of seven lakes

In 2021, I visited my mother town Berlin four times. I very much enjoyed the tour of seven lakes starting at the Wannsee peer. It reawakened memories of sixty years ago. 

At the Wannsee peer we buy tickets from Reederei Werner Triebler. 

The captain will give us detailed information, while gliding along the lakes and channels. He asks for a tip in the “Quassel-Kasse” (palavering cash box).

Do not take the disinfectant bottle with you! Well, times are very special now, with Covid. 

With us travels this lovely butterfly – perhaps not the whole tour. 

This is the route of the “7 Seenrundfahrt” starting at the Grosser Wannsee, continuing to Jungfernsee, Glienicker Lake, Griebnitzsee, Stölpchensee, Pohlesee, kleiner Wannsee and at the end returning to the Grosser Wannsee.  

Source: Google maps and my additions

We start on the Grosser Wannsee, …

… looking back at the famous Strandbad (lido) Wannsee. In my heart I hear the 1951 song of Conny Froboess: “Pack die Badehose ein, nimm Dein kleines Schwesterlein und dann nüscht wie raus nach Wannsee” (pack your bathing trunk, take your little sister and after that it is time to go to the Wannsee).

Now, in September, the Wannsee beach is empty.

The villa of the Wannsee Conference “glides” by. 

Sailing boats in the sun. The Grunewald Tower, another bombastic oeuvre of Emperor William II, appears above the trees in the background. 

We pass by the Pfaueninsel with its small castle.

After that we see the protestant Heilandskirche (Church of the Redeemer) of Sacrow, built in Neo-Romanesque-Lombardian style in 1844.

Until 1989, Sacrow was part of the GDR; with my mother, I looked at Sacrow from the Pfaueninsel in 1966 and I remember the barbwire in the water that prevented us from getting there. My mother wrote in her 1966 diary: “(Across from the Pfaueninsel) is Sacrow on  the western shore (of the Havel) in the East Zone. I have often been at Sacrow.” The barbwires were a nightmare that, today, I cannot believe was once reality. 

The memories of the nightmare continue at the Glienickerbrücke (Glienicke bridge). The border between Brandenburg (formerly GDR) and Berlin (formerly West-Berlin) is in the middle of this bridge. Until 1989, the “west” ended east of this bridge. Still today, the Berlin part of the bridge is darker than the Brandenburg part. Across this bridge, agents were exchanged between the GDR and the BRD. 

In 1966, my grand uncle Ferdinand drove my mother and me to the Glienickebrücke, then closed and separating the GDR and West-Berlin.

My mother wrote in her diary: “Now I stand in front of this bridge that I had crossed so often. On this side of the Havel river, there is a policeman of West Berlin. He is allowed to go up to the middle of the bridge. On the other side of the Havel is the (eastern) Volkspolizei (member of the People’s Police). It is most distressing to look at the barricades on the other (eastern) waterfront of the Havel. Barbwire spirals reach into the water and cover the whole bank, up to the level of the bridgehead. In the water, there are buoys that mark the “border”. On the other (eastern) side, we cannot see one single person. All seems “icily calm”. On this (western) side of the Bridge of Unity (as they called it in the GDR), …, there is a considerable amount of people, even on this early afternoon of a weekday, that look at this scenery without understanding. Below the bridge West Berlin ends and here is the last station of the Stern- und Kreissschiffahrt: Glienickerbrücke…”

Today, we do not stop at Glienickebrücke. The impassable border has disappeared. Our boat passes under the bridge and into the former GDR waters; the gloomy scenery of 1966 seems unthinkable.

The Babelsberg palace appears on the right hand side. Babelsberg is now the centre of the German film industry.

We continue to the Griebnitzsee and turn north, where the Teltow channel starts . This channel was opened in 1906, is about 40 km long, borders Kleinmachnow and ends south of Köpenick.  

In the Griebnitzsee we watch these rowers move synchronously – beautiful.

In 1966, I was also here with my mother. We had taken a boat going south from the Wannsee to the Griebnitzsee, as far as West Berlin reached. My mother wrote in her diary that it was here, where for the first time, we saw the barbwire “mess” (“Gewirr”) at the southern bank of the Griebnitzsee, as half of this lake belonged to the GDR . 

We reach the Griebnitzkanal that connects the Griebnitzsee with the Stölpchensee. 

Now we have entered the Stölpchensee with the settlement Stolpe. 

The protestant church “am Stölpchensee” is from 1859, built in Neo-Romanesque style, whereby the tower has been adorned with four Neo-Gothic turrets which is a somewhat awkward decoration. 

“Stölpchen” is related to slawic “столб” or “stolb” which means pole. Perhaps it describes the shape of the small lake. 

The Alsenbrücke (Alsen bridge) with the Jugendstil handrail of 1906 crosses the Prinz Friedrich Leopold Kanal between Stölpchensee and Pohlesee. 

We enter the Kleiner Wannsee. On the eastern side, not far from this villa is the tomb of Kleist (Kleistgrab).  It was here that Kleist committed suicide in 1811, with his friend Henriette Vogel. It is only a short walk away from the S-Bahn station Wannsee. This is another place to visit, the next time that I will be in Berlin.

Still in the Kleiner Wannsee, we admire the former GDR state yacht Albin Köbis, in use until 1971, acquired and renovated in 2009 by a private person. 

This villa in the lush garden is hiding behind a weeping willow.

Our boat enters the Grosser Wannsee and soon thereafter, we leave it at the Wannsee peer. Thank you, Captain, it was a wonderful tour. You do deserve a tip for your “Quasselkasse”. 

Sources:

  • Diary of my mother, Dr. Marion Peters-Radzyk, Berlin, 1966
  • Various Websites linked in about the former GDR yacht, the Kleistgrab, the church am Stölpchensee and the Reederei Werner Triebler
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Berlin: Liebermann Villa and House of Wannsee Conference

In 2021, I was in Berlin – four times. Once we visited the Villa Liebermann and the House of the Wannsee Conference in the Berlin area Heckesdorn bordering the Wannsee.

 

The Max Liebermann Villa – charming country house in a lush garden

Max Liebermann was a painter. He lived from 1847-1935. He belonged to the secessionists of Berlin taking their lead in 1898.

On the border of the Wannsee, in the settlement Alsen, Liebermann acquired land in 1909 to build his cosy villa as a summer residence. Here he spent his summers painting the garden and his family. 

The villa in the lush garden is open to the public. It is a museum that presents some of Lieberman’s paintings as a well as changing special exhibitions.

Behind the house, vegetables are cultivated. It is now a mid-September garden.

Bordering the Wannsee, there is a meadow with shady trees. It invites to have a rest. A flower garden behind the hedge allows for small promenades. 

Chairs in the meadow indicate that the visitors have accepted the invitation to have a rest. 

The weeping willow near the landing stage waves in the wind. 

The willow and the birch trees take up the shape of the empty sailboat masts.

This is how Liebermann painted his birch trees facing the Wannsee in his garden.

We return to the villa to visit the museum inside.

This is the scene in an open-air restaurant on the shore of the Havel presented in the permanent exhibition.  

The current special exhibition is devoted to portrait photos that Gerty Simon took from known personalities. One example is Käthe Kollwitz.

I am touched by the fate of Gerty Simon: From Germany, she emigrated to Great Britain, was arrested in the Second World War for being German and acquired the British citizenship after the Second World War.  

 

The Wannsee Conference of 1942 – impressive presentation of the extremely gloomy breakfast  

At the request of Göbbels, Heydrich invited various governmental leaders to the former Villa Marlier for a work meeting with breakfast. Their task was to coordinate the efforts between various governmental institutions to organize transferring the Jews to the east, primarily to Poland. The invitation letter makes me shiver: It reflects, how diligently the second layer of the ministers obeys the orders of their superiors, even such horrible orders. And how carelessly they combine this disaster with having breakfast together. 

What happened to the conference participants after 1942? Five members died before 1945 (whereby one of them disappeared; perhaps he escaped). Four members were sentenced or died before 1948.  They were prosecuted due to their entire role in the destruction process, not just due to the participation in the conference. Four more members were arrested and released later. Together with other proponents, they lived a “normal” life after that. 

Eichmann wrote the minutes. His case was spectacular. He escaped to Argentina, was found by the Mossad, transferred to Israel and sentenced here in 1962. 

On Thursday 20th of January, I find an article about the Wannsee Conference in “my” NZZ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), as the conference had occurred exactly 80 years ago. Frank Bajohr, a German historian specializing in the Holocaust, describes the – also in my opinion – dystopic setup: Representatives of the government discuss how to kill millions of people and they do so in the relaxed atmosphere of a breakfast. However, Bajohr says, this conference was not a key event for the Holocaust; the second level ministers at this conference did not make decisions nor were they the primary drivers. But the minutes written by Eichmann are a major key document illustrating what was going on then. The House of the Wannsee Conference has a similar iconic quality, says Bajohr, as Auschwitz.

After our visit, I watch a group of young students discussing their impressions with the teacher; their faces  express grief. I hope and I do wish that all this grief prevents such horribleness in future. 

 

The Lion of Flensburg – the manifestation of victories and defeats in the 19th century

It is evening now. We have a drink at Bolle near the boat harbour – my brother-in-law checks, at what prices boats can be hired here.

The copy of the Lion of Flensburg watches over this Wannsee boat harbour. It tells the history of victories and defeats.

The Danes created the Lion of Flensburg, after having vanquished Schleswig-Holstein in 1850. In 1864, the German Federation vanquished the Danes and confiscated their lion. In 1865, a copy of the Lion was produced for the then new settlement Alsen, today part of the Wannsee district. Since 1938, the copy of the Lion of Flensburg has stood here watching over the Wannsee boat harbour. After 1945, the original Lion of Flensburg was returned to the Danes by the Americans.  

Good-bye, severe lion, may be one of us will return soon to rent a boat in “your” harbour. 

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Berlin: Excursion to Köpenick and the Müggelsee

In 2021, I was in Berlin four times. I love to return to my mother town to discover new corners and to rediscover known corners.

With a friend, I visited Köpenick. We parked conveniently at the Kirchstrasse 5-6 parking, just opposite of the famous townhall of Köpenick.

The townhall is famous for the Captain of Köpenick. He stands next to the main entrance.

 

The Captain of Köpenick – the imposter that arrested the mayor and confiscated the town coffer

We enter the town hall of Köpenick. The atmosphere inside must have an intimidating effect on their citizens. 

The townhall was inaugurated in October 1905 and enlarged in 1949. 

Dogs have to remain outside.

It was one year after the inauguration, that, in 1906, the cobbler Wilhelm Voigt made his coup as the “Captain of Köpenick”.

The life of Walter Voigt, born at Tilsit in Prussia, already went off rails during his apprenticeship as a cobbler in 1863. Between 1863 and 1891, he was sentenced seven times, in 1867 even for twelve years of jail. In 1906, he was expelled from Wismar and later from Rixdorf. He was jobless then.   

In 1906, he bought the uniform of a captain from a second-hand-dealer, investigated several town halls in Berlin and selected Köpenick, one reason being the good train connections. He collected a group of soldiers and with them, he took the suburban train to Köpenick. He performed his role as a captain with determination and was successful, because order and obedience were engrained in the German society at the times of Emperor Wilhelm II. The imposter Captain arrested the mayor and confiscated the money of the city. He even signed for having received the money. He escaped, was arrested ten days later and sentenced to four years of jail. However, Emperor William II amnestied him in 1908. 

After 1908, he earned money by telling about his imposter coup. He registered his voice on a disk and received 200 Mark for that. He made speeches, not only in Berlin, but in all Germany; the advertisements appeared in the newspapers of that time, as the exhibition panel explains. However, the outbreak of the First World War ended this “business” opportunity. Wilhelm Voigt died as a poor and ill man in Luxembourg in 1922.

Various films present the story of the Captain of Köpenick, one of them with Heinz Rühmann as the protagonist in 1956.

In addition, his imposter adventure entered literature; Carl Zuckmayer wrote the play “der Hauptmann von Köpenick” in 1930, and in 1931, it was performed for the first time in the German Theatre of Berlin.

 

Strolling through Köpenick

It is raining. There is a small market on the Schlossplatz. Geflügelotto presents his pieces of grilled chicken.

Even the Berliner Sparkasse, a bank, offers their services, making it all clear that this mobile bank branch office does not carry any money. It just provides advice.

Also Köpenick is getting ready for the German and Berlin September elections. The LKR are liberal conservative reformers that dislike the extensive gender equality used in the German language by adding “*innen” to include the female gender. They want it to be removed from schools and governmental activities. “Quatsch” means “nonsense”, and “Quatsch” includes the female gender here. 

 

The baroque castle of Köpenick with the exhibition of furniture and dishes

From the rain, we escape to the castle of Köpenick, located on the Schlossinsel or castle island surrounded by the river Dahme. 

A panel explains that the castle island has been inhabited since almost 5000 years. In 850, the Slavs built a fortification here. The baroque castle that we see today is from the end of the 17th century. The castle is now part of the Berlin State Museums. 

We are amazed by the beauty of the modern porcelain and ceramic works presented. This is the plate named “Unkraut” (weeds) by Grita Götze.

From Sonngard Marcks, I have selected three works, first the “Faltschale” (folded bowl),…

… second the “Scherbengericht” (this correctly translates to “ostracism”, but this translation loses the allusion to  “Scherben” = “broken pieces” and “Gericht” which means either “court” or “dish”)… 

… and third the Deckeldose Zori (Deckeldose = container with lid).

In addition, original porcelain is presented such as this rococo dinnerware made by KPM for Frederic the Great in 1767.

Furthermore, there is a permanent exhibition of furniture (Raumkunst) from renaissance, baroque and rococo. I select three highlights.

I am surprised to find this noble baroque buffet of the Basel guild of zaffron (Safranzunft), crafted by the carpenter Johann Heinrich Keller in 1666. The panel does not describe, how this buffet came to Berlin. 

This commode is from Würzburg, 1750. 

From the panel, I learn that commodes are called “commodes”, because they are “commode” (French for convenient, practical) with the drawers providing easy access to the content (I guess, as opposed to coffers in use until now; commodes were an innovation of the 18th century). 

This “Pultschreibeschrank” (desk and cupboard) is made from poplar and decorated with oil paintings showing mythological scenes (1730, probably from Rome).  

 

 

Köpenick – walking around the Kiez

The rain has stopped. We walk around the so called Kiez, which is the old village of Köpenick.

The houses have been renovated… 

… and decorated with care.

 

Müggelsee with lookout

My friend would feel like getting an overview of the area. We find it above the Müggelsee, where we climb the lookout that has been constructed in 1961.

The tower has the charm of a socialist building. The view is superb. Here we see the skyline of Berlin far behind the forest.

Now we have turned south and look at the river Dahme that joins the Spree at Köpenick. 

 

Müggelsee – boat harbour Rübezahl

We have a drink near the boat harbour “Rübezahl”. The name alludes to the giant that lives in the Riesengebirge (Giants mountains or Karkonosze) in Silesia, now part of Poland. 

The reeds are a protected biotope.

We walk along the lake. In the background we can see the outskirts of Köpenick. 

My mother had always told me, how much she loved to be here, when she was young. 

My friend wanted to take a boat ride – but now it is almost six p.m.

We leave Köpenick and accomplish the day with an excellent dinner in the Italian restaurant Il Giardino at Hackerstrasse. 

 

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