At the end of WWII, Germany was in shambles. On their recent historical scorecard, they tallied two lost wars, the genocide of over 6 million Jewish people, and the failure of numerous attempts at a unified government. At the Potsdam Conference in 1945, Germany’s postwar fate was decided; their new economy was planned, its borders were redrawn, and the country was divided among the Allies. An independent German government ceased to exist and was replaced by the governing forces of the Allied powers. These measures were taken to ensure lasting peace in a post-WWII world. For much of the next half century, the world watched Germany, curious to see how they would rebuild under such circumstances. In the West, occupied by the Americans, British, and French, was the Federal Republic of Germany, and in the East, occupied by Russia, was the communist German Democratic Republic. Germany’s ensuing “rebuilding” period took place under the tension of the Cold War, a conflict between democracy and communism that would not be resolved until the 1990s. Nonetheless, Germany slowly began to rebuild themselves, and today is considered an exemplar of reconciling one’s brutal history.
Cecilienhof Palace, where the Potsdam Conference of 1945 was held.
No modern war, with the exception of the Civil War, has been fought in the continental United States. To see the physical and political remnants of a war almost 75 years later was an informative experience. The effects of the war and the ensuing occupation is echoed throughout Berlin, the epicenter of German culture and politics. The Reichstag building reverberates Germany’s new idea of democracy and attempts to deal with their turbulent past. In very particular details, the Reichstag building symbolizes the German government’s attempt at a truly democratic political system. Today, the Reichstag building is where the Bundestag, or German parliament, meets. Upon entering the building, visitors instantly notice how devoid it is of decoration. This is because each decoration with cultural influence from one state must be matched with the same type of decoration for every other state. As a result, the Reichstag must either be distractingly filled with decorations, or lack any decoration at all. In the interest of parsimony, they chose the latter. Another aspect of the building that is hard to miss is the large glass dome on the top. This dome symbolizes the transparency of the government, allowing citizens to look down into the main hall where their representatives are. Inside the chamber, the stands for the public are placed above the representatives to symbolize the people being above their elected officials. These particular details, aimed at pleasing all citizens, clearly demonstrate that Germany is determined to move on from their dark past. Finally, one of the most striking remnants of the war is the Russian graffiti that has been memorialized on the walls of the Reichstag. When Russia invaded Berlin in 1945, many soldiers left graffiti on the inside of the Reichstag, which was preserved and now displayed in the Reichstag. To me, this is a statement from the German government that they are not ashamed by their distressing past.
Graffiti from Soviet invasion in 1945. Notice the different dates in the graffiti.
The intense pressure on post-war Germany to deal with the mistakes of their past led to their display of an objective public history of the war. Throughout Berlin there are numerous other instances of the memorialization of their transgressions. The German History Museum presents a narrative that does not shy away from the atrocities committed during the war or attempt to overstate any resistance to the Third Reich. The Topography of Terror Museum is wholly dedicated to documenting the atrocities of the Nazi regime. The many pieces of the Berlin Wall throughout the city commemorate a pressurized period of German history. In many ways, there is no attempt at presenting a nationalistic view of German culture, something completely different from the United States and our ethnocentric attitudes. There are many aspects of American history that are glossed over in the interest of forgetting our dark past. While there are attempts at memorializing our wrongdoings in the United States, we should take an objective look at how we present our darkest moments at a country in the same way Germany has attempted to do so.
The main hall of the Reichstag.