The last few days in Berlin have proved pretty eventful. For starters, I finally got my wallet back. Too bad it and everything inside it had been melted by the industrial-strength dryer used by the hospital. I suppose it could have been worse. At least it wasn’t stolen.
The five hour train ride to Berlin took us through the German countryside from the sleepy town of Bonn to the capital. Immediately it was clear that Berlin was an international city in a category of its own, separate from other German cities. Cosmopolitan and VERY spread out, tall buildings stretch out of the earth and history is literally beneath your feet at every step.
Having been here a few days and getting the chance to learn and understand a bit of the city’s history, Berlin seems rather like a monument to tragedy. Everywhere you turn there is a memorial to some violent event. And this doesn’t just apply to victims of the Second World War. The city has been around for some several hundred years and belonged to many rulers, whether we’re talking the war-hungry Prussians, the Nazis, or the Soviet Union. People in Berlin have been through a lot. Whether they deserve half the misfortunes that have befallen them is ultimately a matter of speculation and, in my opinion, dependent on how forgiving you are towards a city that stands at the epicenter of many terrible events.
Today we went on a tour of the city, seeing the depth of history in Berlin and how all the elements of the past lie on top of each other in layers. Berlin was the hearth of German aggression in World War I, World War II, and a critical point of the Cold War. Throughout Berlin, there are various memorials and markings designating the Berlin wall or a memorial to some unfortunate group of people lost in one of the countless catastrophes that erupted in the past.
One of the most interesting things that I learned today involved how the end of the Cold War was brought about. Under Mikhail Gorbachev, the policies of perestroika and glasnost brought a certain openness to society in the Soviet Union. As this openness increased, the Soviet Union began considering allowing the immigration of East Berliners to the West for a period of 30 days, allowing people to go to and from the East. Then, when word of this got to the ears of East Berliners via Western radio of this policy, massive protests broke out at the checkpoints. Although the Soviets were prepared to violently put down the protests, they never received the orders to do this. As the protesters gathered, the Soviets began allowing the louder and more “active” protesters to leave, in hopes that this would diffuse the situation. Yet, protesters caught on that the louder they were the better the chance they had to leave the East. Soon, the crowds and the pressure became too great, and the gates were open, allowing Easterners to flood into the West on December 9, 1989. This is how the Berlin Wall fell, as if by accident. Interesting, no?
The visit to the Reichstag also proved rather interesting. The German “parliament” is the only decision making body of the German government and consists of multiple parties. This is very different than the U.S. system because in Germany, if your party receives at least 5% of the vote, then it has representation in the Bundestag. Germans get two votes: one for the party and one for the candidates themselves. Germans also have a great trust for their government, as many decisions that are made qualify as “government intervention,” but the Germans seem to be doing well. I read today that they German unemployment has reached a new low around 6%. They also have great healthcare. Say what you will about the role of government in society, but it makes you wonder if we don’t at least have a thing or two to learn from our friends across the Atlantic.
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