It is built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der Havel. It is also the meeting place for thousands of locals and tourists and sometimes for those who need to make a political statement. 

 

Berlin is a city of contrasts, memories and humble truths. It is a city that remembers its past, takes ownership for its past political atrocities and those decisions made by those political demons and how it persecuted and murdered millions. There are many memorials erected to make bold reminders of the past and take ownership of the past. Monuments, large and small can be found throughout this magnificent city to many different groups. 

 

There is more to know about Berlin than just what happened in WWII with so much to learn and experience about the split between East and West and the pain it caused between families and friends. And then there was the Palace Of Tears; the immigration check point between East and West. It was called the Palace Of Tears as this was the point where families and friends were separated, people shed tears of grief, knowing they would be separated.

 

In addition to the emotional memories of the past, there are the physical memories, and some of these are captured by the shrapnel and bullet holes in the stone work of centuries old buildings, luckily escaping the tanks and bombs and demolition of WWII. In the photo array to your right, there are some photos showing what has been left behind. What you have to remember is, most townships established in centuries prior to 1939, many established with family ties going back to the year of 1506 and even earlier, have been devestated by WWII. A rare few managed to escape and survive.

 

 

Having seen the 1993 movie, Schindler's List by Steven Spielberg, you'd have learned about the amazing amount of Jews and others he personally kept alive through his personal sacrifice and hardship. There was another man, who kept many Jews from being murdered by the Nazis, and that man was Otto Weidt.

 

Mr Weidt was the owner of a workshop in Berlin for the blind and deaf. He fought to protect his Jewish workers against deportation and he has been recognised for his work as one of the Righteous Men of the World's Nations. The Museum of Otto Weidt's Workshop for the Blind remains on the original site of the factory and is dedicated to his life.

 

He owned and managed a factory manufacturing items such as brooms. Mr Weidt also saved adults and children from the nazi machine by employing them and demanding they work for him to his own personal demise.

 

It was quite clear not every German citizen were in favour of or stood behind their German Leader at the time of WWII. There were thousands upon thousands who opposed the Nazi ideology. 

 

 

The Internal Resistance

 

The photo to your right is a small fraction

of the people who worked for the Nazi

Government machine, yet personally and

vehemently opposed the Nazi Leader's 

ideology and methodology and worked to

undermine him and destroy him every step

of the way.

 

The wall of photos were so large,

I was unable to take the one photo of all

those people who opposed the Nazi Leader.

There were thousands.

 

It was clear to see there was a great deal of

resistance to the Nazi regime, everyone from

low level workers such as Receptionists to 

high level Leaders.