From its prevalent street art to booming businesses, the city of Berlin is a modern haven amidst the antiquated, historic cities of central Europe. Additionally, Berlin has a strong tie to its history, and the city’s character is built around that connection. Out of the four countries we visited, Germany was the most adamant about building its present and future on the lessons learned from the past. This ideology is evident in how Germany deals with its turbulent past with complete openness; the country does not ignore the messiness and does not try to overshadow it with the seemingly cleaner parts of their history. Instead, Germany faces the facts straight on.
The country has achieved a level of transparency in dealing with their history that translates into the transparency they keep with their government. Our visit to the Reichstag was my favorite thing we did in Berlin and one of my favorite things we have done over the past month because the building so clearly illustrated the transparency between the state and its people in its architecture and symbolism. As a Reichstag worker took us around the building, the symbolism became more and more evident. The most striking feature for me was in the main hall where parliament meets. On the second level of this hall is where the media and citizens can sit-in on meetings, and, as with most things in the building, this setup has symbolism. Traditionally, the boss sits above the rest of the people, so when the citizens sit above parliament, they are meant to be watching and keeping the government in line. This symbolic feature of the Reichstag is one of many features that utilize the events of the past to direct the course of the future.
While I could clearly see the history of the war in every country, Germany by far was the most productive with their history. There are elements around the city that remind residents and visitors alike of the events of WWII, but the city does more than just remember the events; they build this history into their future, fostering a contemporary culture of remembrance and constructiveness.