Berlin's Unterwelten (Underworlds)

I am currently leaning against a tree in a rather plain parking lot. In all directions, there are tall apartment complexes that were constructed during East Berlin's communist era. It turns out that directly below my feet, under 13 feet of concrete, is Hitler's subterranean bunker. In this bunker, Hitler sat in front of his strategy boards moving ghost armies, smoked crystal meth, and ultimately took his own life. The German government intended to not recognize this historical location in order to avoid commemorating Hitler.

Earlier today, I visited remnants of the Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall Memorial. Although looking at the memorial site was interesting, what truly struck me was that if you look at the ground, you see subtle stone steps that lie perpendicular to the wall. Upon further research, I discovered that each array of stone steps follows the path of secret tunnels that Berliners dug underground in order to escape from the eastern sector into Western Berlin. There are over 40 known attempts; however, most of these attempts failed.

Yesterday, I visited a beautiful park in the northern part of Berlin. It seems nearly untouched. It was filled with trees and a manicured rose garden. However, beneath this forest is one of the few remaining massive anti-aircraft Flak Towers built during WWII. Three were built in Berlin. When Berlin was divided up after WWII, one tower was located in the French sector, one in the British sector, and one in the Soviet Union sector.

How does one destroy a massive modern fortress, which has walls of concrete up to 11 feet thick and housed 30,000 Berliner during bombing raids? Furthermore, how does one remove the rubble after destroying the fortress. Where is the rubble transported to? Would it be more efficient to leave it and place more rubble on top of it?

After numerous attempts and enormous sums of money, the Soviets, British, and French each used over 35 tons of TNT to destroy the towers. While the Soviets removed the rubble, the British extended the Berlin Zoo and constructed a Gorilla exhibit atop the rubble. The British government believed that the rubble could be integrated into the gorilla exhibit and that the gorillas would climb atop the rubble. However, the Gorillas did not take a liking to the rubble and the British consequently removed the rubble. In contrast, the French's Flak Tower did not fully collapse. As a result, the French attempted to bury the half-destroyed fortress under leftover rubble from the war. Trees grew out of the rubbles, and there now exists a forest.

Berlin is a mind-blowing city. Yes, nearly every European city is fascinating and has extensive history; however, Berlin is different. It is difficult to encapsulate all the societal and cultural changes that this city has experienced during WWI, WWII, capitalism, communism, the Weimar Republic, Nazism, and reunification, since the formation of the Prussian Empire. Luckily, many of these changes have been engrained both above and below the streets and the forests of Berlin. The only thing I can really tell you is to come and visit Berlin and experience the history for yourself.

Volkspark Humboldthain

Below My Feet

Berlin Cathedral Under the Third Reich

Berlin Cathedral 2015