Friday, I arrived in Berlin and met up with Susanne Riveles, a friend from Baltimore, at a designated meeting place close to her sublet flat. I wanted to see “Berliner Arbeiterwiderstand” -Berlin Worker Resistance, an exhibit that Susanne and three other daughters of executed resistors during the Nazi era had organized. Last year it was inaugurated by the placement of commemorative brass plaques in front of some houses of those who died, including that of Dr. Johann Kreiselmaier, Susanne’s father.
This year a detailed exhibit opened in June at Humboldt University. Saturday Susanne and I had a 12-hour outing (mostly on foot) that included a visit to the exhibit. It was a well designed series of panels, each one with information detailing the different contributions made by the specific group of resistors including women, athletes, Jews, soldiers and workers. Susanne helpfully guided me through in English, adding extra information from the 4 years of research that the group had amassed.
Next we visited the “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe” -the Holocaust Memorial close to the Brandenburg Gate. The memorial consists of a maze of 2711 cement sarcophagi. Some are knee high, others tower above, some are tilted, others perpendicular to the ground casting weird shadows. It creates an atmosphere of claustrophobia and danger. One can easily become lost. It is also a remarkable monument because children play hide-and-seek throughout the site. This counterpoint to the brutal origins of the site adds an unexpected dimension to the memorial. Underneath there is a museum that documents the Holocaust and an information centre about individuals and families that perished.
We then went to the enormous Berlin Dom to hear an inspired Organ Concert played by Frenchman Vincent Warnier. When Susanne told me in the morning that at 8pm we would be at an organ recital I inwardly groaned thinking I’d be asleep. However, we met up with her friend Heidi, an interesting organist herself and it was quite amazing. The music reverberated in the GIANT space, penetrating our weary muscles and consciousness. Also good to see a lot of young folk there. After the concert we three walked through the night stopping for a glass of wine before taking a bus home. An amazing day.
The next day I went to an exhibit by Emil Nolde, “Work on Paper,” at the Berlin Museum of Prints and Drawings. It was disappointing except for a quick ink sketch of a tugboat in Hamburg, and a print of showgirls at the Tingel-Tengel club. I did discover that Nolde had traveled to the South Seas -but more on Nolde from Hamburg… Since Susanne was departing soon for Baltimore, I decided to leave the next day for Hamburg. Having seen schedules for an unbelievable variety of music, theatre and art I realized that the city had more going than I could have ever imagined. I hope to walk more!
Root,
I saw Nolde’s work (huge paintings in frenzied color and theme)in the Frankfurt Museum of Art and it was a life changer. I’ll check the link you provided. Sounds like Europe is your best medicine — at least you make it sound that way. I am hearing no hints of fatigue.
Germaine