What I Learned in Berlin

A few weeks ago I went by myself to Berlin. As it's one of the most important cities of the past century and I live only a half-day train ride away, it's been on my list for awhile. And since I couldn't convince anyone to go with me, the trip was less about pubs and clubs and more about guided tours, museums, memorials, and lots of walking and all the thinking time that goes with it. While there, I learned, remembered and realized a few things.

In April 1932, Adolph Hitler ran for President of Germany. He had risen to some fame nine years earlier after he and a small group of armed men staged a failed coup in a Munich beer hall. During his trial for high treason, he was given nearly unlimited time (according to wikipedia) to speak and express his nationalistic views. These resonated with many of his poor and beaten countrymen, and he served only a year of his five year sentence. In the Presidential election, he won more than a third of the vote but lost to the incumbent and elderly Paul von Hindenburg. In July 1932, the Nazi Party scored a huge election victory, giving it the most seats in the Reichstag (the German parliament), though not a majority. In January 1933, Hitler was sworn in as the Chancellor, the #2 in the German Democracy.

On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag was set on fire. Police found a Dutch man inside, who admitted to setting the fires in the name of the Communist Party. The man had a history of mental illness, and due to the size of the building and the fire, he couldn't have done it all himself (according to my bubbly Australian tour guide). To this day, no one is sure exactly who set the fire.

The following day, Hitler asked for and was given emergency powers by von Hindenburg. The Communist Party was suppressed, and people started to flee, disappear or turn up dead. On March 6, 1933, the Nazi Party gained even more seats in the Reichstag, but still failed to grab a majority. On August 2, 1934, von Hindenburg died, and instead of holding new presidential elections, Hitler declared himself Fuhrer. Critics were silenced. Not enough people stepped up.

"First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
 and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one
left to speak up for me."

-Rev. Martin Niemoller

On September 11, 2001 the World Trade Towers in New York City were destroyed when jet airliners were crashed into them. President George W. Bush asked Congress to vote for the Patriot Act, a piece of legislation which relaxed privacy laws and other restrictions on law enforcement. On October 24, 2001, the House passed the bill by a 357-66 vote with nine abstaining, and the next day 98 Senators voted in favor of the Patriot Act with one abstaining and the junior Senator from Wisconsin, Russ Feingold, dissenting.

The Nazis may have been behind the Reichstag Fire, or maybe not, but no one can say they didn't use it to their advantage. A few of my friends like to talk about how 9/11 was a hoax, that the thing was planned by the government. You may roll your eyes (like I did), but it's important not to dismiss this too quickly. Authoritarianism can gain a lot from a terrorist act, so there is always a motive.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Bush is Hitler, or that I think he and his boys blew up the Towers. People who cry about that are just upset that his party had been kicking the shit out of theirs on the political battlefield. But see the parallel.

While on my tour, the guide pointed out the Reichstag to us, now rebuilt. You can walk to the top of its big glass dome and get a 360 degree view of the city. She also took us to the public square of Bebelplatz.

On May 1933, a huge book burning took place here. Members of the Hitler Youth pulled books from the shelves of the adjacent Royal Library (right) and tossed them into the fire. The square is overlooked by the Humboldt University (the vantage point of the above picture). Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, and the Brothers Grimm all studied or taught there, and Marx's book s were undoubtedly part of the kindling. In the middle of the square, there is now a window in the ground. Look into it and you will see empty bookshelves built underground. Next to the window is a plaque with a quotation.

"DAS WAR EIN VORSPIEL NUR, DORT,
WO MAN BÜCHER VERBRENNT,
VERBRENNT MAN AM ENDE AUCH MENSCHEN."
HEINRICH HEINE 1820

Heine was a German poet, a contemporary of Marx at the Humboldt University. The translation reads "That was merely a prelude. Wherever they burn books, eventually they will burn people too." Note the year he said it.