It’s not obvious, but my current residence was once in British territory. As all segments of Berlin were divided among the Allied (Alliierte) powers Schmargendorf just happens to be British.
The last real signs of that occupation stand as a small RAF base to our West, and a British-run radio station with terrible pop music (just my opinion, of course, based on a limited sample).
But to the south of us, in Dahlem, was American territory, and in the former Allied Headquarters is a nice little museum documenting the interesting struggles for influence over Berlin.
Through reconstructions, newspaper clippings, videos and other exhibitions, the former HQ is now a small reminder to how Berlin was controlled by British, French, American and Russian forces.
Each section of Berlin was influenced by its occupying army. French sections, for example, have a fairly large French speaking population. The American section has an American high school.
The museum has a large section devoted to personal stories of those involved with the occupating in big and small ways. One exhibit shows the full dress uniforms for the French, British and American commanders.
Another section tells the story of a young German who was hired to work on an American airfield, later to become a firefighter at the field managing his own crew.
Also interesting was a recreation of an espionage tunnel built by the Allies to tap into Russian communication lines. The tunnel, which looked like a kid’s playhouse with wires, was built after the Allies attained consent from the Russians to build a radar outpost near the edge of Russian territory. Unbeknownst to the Russians, the Allies had burroughed into Russian territory to listen in on the East’s goings-on. One Russian was quoted in a paper as saying, “We have to give them credit for that one.”
But the most curious remembrance of the Allies in Germany was yet to come.
On a back wall of the museum we found this poster, advertising a kind of cultural festival between the Americans and Germans. These festivals are supposed to be exchanges of tradition. But with America being such a diverse society, I had a hard time guessing what a traditional American dance would be, to go with the Big Fireworks and Military concert.
Fortunately, a crude carnival was underway down the street from the museum, being advertised as the “Terror of the Northwest” Deutsch-Amerikanisches Volksfest. There were many cheap carnival rides, and cotton candy, but little sign of a transatlantic bridge being built.
And then, on one of the rides, the American influence was clear. Traditional dancing? Try break dancing.
It’s hard to imagine being occupied. It’s hard to imagine going through the hell of war only to have to rebuild and try to make sense of something that might have no good reason to why it happened.
I saw a gentleman on the subway tonight, who must have been 70 or so. I thought to myself, he would’ve been 6 as the second Great War was ending, and now he’s in the same country, only now it’s rebuilt, and unified, and a commercial hub in a globalised world.
It’s amazing what change can occur in a lifetime.
I’m sure the American occupation in Germany had its affect on this nation.
One photo in the museum showed protestors holding signs saying “We want our Amis back” referring to the American presence in Berlin after the U.S. pulled out.
Whatever present-day politics divide our countries, I think it’s important to remember our nations have experienced much worse…together and against each other.
And if a bad carnival and some break dancing will remind even one person that in 70 years countries can go from mortal enemies to close allies, I guess it’s not all that bad.