Another short bus ride took us over to the famous Humboldt University. We disembarked here. Humboldt University was established in 1809, but opened in 1810 as Friedrich Wilhelm University. In 1949, it became known as Humboldt University. Many regard Humboldt as the world’s foremost university for the natural sciences. Another of the things Humboldt is known for is the Humboldtian model of higher education – basically a concept where there is a holistic combination of studies and research. This theory had and continues to have a big influence on Western as well as European universities.
Humboldt lists 55 Nobel Prize winners among its faculty and alumni. Famous students and faculty include: Otto von Bismark, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Max Born, Angela Davis, W.E.B. Du Bois, Albert Einstein, Heinrich Heine, Zakir Hussain, Karl Liebknecht, Karl Marx, Felix Menselssohn, and Max Planck.
As the Third Reich came into power, the university found itself caught in the activities of the Nazis. What followed was the firing and dismissal of students and faculty, starting with the Jews. Doctorates were nullified. Those who opposed the Nazis were kicked out of the university and in many cases deported.
I knew of Humboldt University’s fame. But I had no idea about any of this.
As we continued walking, Sylvia pointed out the Memorial to the Book Burning that is here at the Babelplatz (formerly called Opernplatz) just outside the university. Depending on your source, 20-25,000 books by “degenerates” (also described as books that were considered to be “un-German”) were removed from libraries and other places in and around Berlin. On May 10, 1933, those books were taken to the square at the Babelplatz and burned. The ‘ceremony’ was attended and started by the German Student Association, with the SS (Schutzstaffel (Protection Squadron)), SA (Sturmabteilung (Storm Detachment) aka brownshirts), and Hitler Youth Groups looking on, and featured a speech by Joseph Goebbels.
The memorial was designed by Israeli artist Micha Ullman. The monument is set in the ground near the center of the square and covered by pane of plexiglass. It contains rows of empty white shelves, enough to hold about 20,000 books. Its vacant shelves signify the books that were burned that day. According to the Visit Berlin website, “What was lost and burnt were the books by those who the Nazis ostracized and persecuted, who had to leave the country, and whose stories were no longer allowed to be told.” The plaque next to the memorial reads: “Das war ein Vorspeil nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen” – Heinrich Heine 1820. This translates to “That was only a prelude; where they burn books, they will also burn people in the end.” Eerily prophetic words written over a century before these events took place. I remember looking into the emptiness below and thinking this is a void that probably can never be filled or replaced.
Next stop was Checkpoint Charlie. I was expecting a little bit of an introduction before we arrived but there was none. We suddenly found ourselves here at the famous Checkpoint Charlie. Soooo. This is where Checkpoint Charlie was/is. It looked much like a small guard shack. Traffic passes by the shack on both sides. It is easy to imagine guards controlling ingress and egress from this point during the Cold War.
Here is another place that I had only heard about in movies and in conversations where others were having discussions about their time in Germany. During the Cold War period, Checkpoint Charlie was one of the most well-known crossing points between East and West Berlin. It separates the American Sector and Soviet Sector. As you most likely already know, Checkpoint Charlie has a storied past, including being depicted in several motion pictures such as, “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”, “One, Two, Three”, “Octopussy”, and “Bridge of Spies”.
Across the street is the Mauermuseum – Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, a private museum. We had the time but I didn’t go in. The museum opened in a building that was pretty much “the last building right before the border.” Of course, this was on the West Berlin side of the border.
The actual Checkpoint Charlie booth was removed after the wall came down and is now on display in the Allied Museum in Berlin. What we are seeing today is a replica of the signs and the guardhouse booth that now stand on the original site. The ‘guards’ we see here are actors in military uniforms. You can take a photo with them if you’d like…for a fee.
About a block away from Checkpoint Charlie stood several sections of the former wall. On them were painted pictures of seven famous – or infamous – world leaders. The message on the first panel depicted them as “more walls to tear down.”
Down the street from where those panels stood was a work of art that can only be described as, well, I can’t describe it. It looked like a giant Play-Doh ball that had been rolled over a ladder, broom, chair, and a few other household objects, all tied up by a rope. This was covered by a steel-frame structure. Art?
Currywurst
I saw some vendors in a lot across the street from where our bus was parked. My guess is the lot was the site of an East German checkpoint watchtower close by Checkpoint Charlie. It was torn down to make room for office space and shops but the project never materialized.
We had a few minutes before departure so I crossed the street to see what the vendors had to offer. What caught my eye was something called currywurst. Of course I knew about bratwurst, but not currywurst. Currywurst is considered the quintessential German street food. I did not know this at the time. I just wanted some authentic German food and happened to see this. Apparently, I hit the German street food jackpot! I am glad I listened to the voice in my head that told me to get it. While I was placing my order, a lady tried to cut in front me saying she only wanted a bottle of water. The vendor wasn’t having any of it. I also reminded her I was in line first. She sulked but waited her turn.
Currywurst was started right here in Berlin in 1949 by Herta Heuwer, a German housewife and imbiss (small take-away stand) owner and it became an instant hit. Coincidently, less than a week after Heuwer’s 100th birthday, I’d get to try her creation.
I’m not sure I can accurately describe the flavor, but what it is is a steamed then fried bratwurst. This is then cut into bite-sized pieces and smothered with curry ketchup. Sometimes, more curry is sprinkled on top of this. Strange combination of flavors but I found it to be delicious. So do most Germans. I would eat this probably once a week or more if I could get it. Sylvia even commented on it when I came back to the bus. Again, no one else in our tour group got one, let alone crossed the street to go see what else was going on over there.
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