Day 11 – An Evening Visiting The Brandenburg Gate, The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, & The East Side Gallery

With a break in the heat and humidity, several of my TOP group members and I decided to spend our evening visiting some of the most notable places in the city. Using public transportation we were able to experience everything on our must-see list within just a few hours AND everything that we saw was completely FREE! Our first stop was the Brandenburg Gate. Most likely if you have ever watched any historical footage in Berlin, you’ve seen the Brandenburg Gate. Built between 1788-1791, the design of the Gate was inspired by the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. From its beginning this monument has had a tumultuous past. For eight years, starting in 1806 the statue on top of the gate was held captive in France during Napoleon’s conquest of the area. After eventually returning to Germany, the Gate was damaged, but not destroyed during WWII. During the Cold War, this gate served as a symbol of a divided country as the border wall ran parallel to the Gate. Now, after reunification, the Brandenburg Gate serves as a reminder of peace and unity. When the Berlin Wall went up, access to the Gate was closed as it was located in the former GDR. What I found interesting is that directly to the West of the Brandenburg Gate an observation platform was located so citizens living in the West could observe what life behind the Iron Curtain looked like. Of course the Brandenburg Gate also served as the location where Ronald Reagan issued his famous words “Mr. Gorbachov – tear down this wall!”.

A few key things to keep in mind when visiting the Brandenburg Gate – during the summer months and afternoon hours it gets packed here. I suggest an evening visit about an hour before the sun sets! When you visit the Brandenburg Gate make sure to get pictures from both sides of the gate to get a true view of what the people in East Berlin vs what the people in West Berlin would see on a daily basis. You will also want to take time to see the “Raum der Stille” or “Room of Silence” which is located on the north wing of the monument, as well as the American embassy, which is located in the former East Germany.

On the evening we visited, there was a music concert and the stage was set up directly outside the Brandenburg Gate, which would have been awesome to see. If you find yourself in Germany during the summer months there are tons of outdoor concerts so take advantage of living like a local while listening to some great music. Maybe you’ll be able to attend one of the concerts outside the Brandenburg Gate!

Just one block down from the Brandenburg gate is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. What I love about traveling with my TOP group is that everyone of us teaches some type of social studies content area. We not only have an appreciation for history, but a passion for it. Upon arrival at the memorial we decided we would break up and spend some time individually exploring, reflecting and synthesizing and then we would meet back in half an hour or so. I was so fortunate for this time because it really allowed me to reflect as I walked through the various levels of the exhibit.

Prior to arrival, I had read about the memorial and viewed photos of it, but standing directly in front of the memorial I was immediately taken aback by the overwhelming size. The memorial consists of 2,711 concrete slabs, all of different heights and covers nearly 19,000 square meters. What I never realized from photos was that the entire memorial is located on a slight slope and when looking from one side to the other it almost appears as a wave. When designing this memorial the architect, Peter Eisenman, stated, “We can only know the past today through a manifestation in the present.” There is so much symbolism present within this memorial, the various sizes, heights, and spaces can represent the many diverse victim of the Holocaust. I found myself reflecting as I walked through the exhibit, often finding myself alone within the concrete slabs with no view of an entrance or exit. What was most powerful was how quiet it got as I walked farther into the memorial, the sounds of the city nearly completely faded away. If you have time, there is also an underground exhibit that you can view at the memorial if you arrive before five pm.

Our final destination was the East Side Gallery. This was an exhibit that I had read about prior to the trip and after learning more about it during my Berlin Wall memorial tour it soon became a top priority for me. It was about an hour walk from the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe to the East Side Gallery, but walking allowed us to check out the local culture. We also had group members who had not visited Checkpoint Charlie yet so we did a quick stop there. (Check out my earlier post on that location for more information). One element that I found really interesting walking around the streets of Berlin are the pedestrian lights. Since the city was divided during GDR times you can tell which part of the city you are in based on the pedestrian street lights.

Pedestrian street lights in the East Look like this:

Street lights in the West look like this:

With about an hour of sunlight left our group arrived at the East Side Galley and was it worth the walk! I’m going to tell you right now the pictures on the internet and social media DO NOT do this place justice. After visiting I’m no longer surprised why it is one of the most instagrammable places in Germany. The East Side Gallery is the longest open air gallery in the world, stretching over 1,300 meters long and including 101 large scale images painted on the former Berlin Wall. This gallery stands as a memorial to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the peaceful reunification of the country of Germany. In fact, when the wall came down in 1989, artists from all over the world traveled to Berlin to transform the East Side of the Wall that had remained untouched for forty years.

This is an amazing experience and I promise you will be just as amazed by the art and symbolism as I was. Below are just a few of my favorite gallery pieces.