Thursday, November 06, 2008

Great Museums of the World/the Jewish museum in Berlin

I have to admit that I’m not a fan of modern art, but for the first time in my life I am impressed by a museum that is nothing but modern. Unlike any other museums, the Jewish museum in Berlin is not just a place where you find pieces in display along with a brief explanations of what they are. Of course there is a department covering this, it is a museum after all, so you will find many things related to Jewish history in Germany , photos and data about famous Jewish figures, holocaust victims and many of their belongings. But the most impressing parts that really affected me and kept me inspired for days were the parts where you do not “see” things in display but rather become part of an experience. So, for example, you are directed to walk along very dark passages, linking to the hiding, loss and fear that the Jews had to experience during the Nazi regime. You reach a room where it is very dark and very small, something that imitates the rooms where they placed hundreds of people to be gassed to death! Another shocking thing was a corridor where you should walk on iron tiles, shaped like human faces in agony, linking to the mass graves they were burying the bodies in.(I couldn't do that) The most impressive piece was a huge board on the wall and you can only read the writings on it when you face a mirror and look at the board in your back, the writing was designed in such a way so that while reading you are seeing yourself and other people beside you in the same time, linking to the hiding that many people went through, and it is telling you no need to hide anymore. A major work of literature building on this is the diary of Anne Frank, but this needs another post. After the emotionally stressful yet inspiring 4 hours I spent in the museum, I needed a long walk, I was thanking God for being able to walk in the streets, to see and be seen by people, to breath fresh air, to see the sky and feel the wind, to be alive.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Great Museums of the World/Deutsches Historisches Museum (Berlin)

One of the most beautiful streets I have ever seen in my life is "Unter den Linden Street" in the heart of Berlin. The name of the street means "under the linden", we may be familiar with Linden tree as it is also called Tilia and in Egypt we know it as Telio (In Arabic it is called Zayzafon), a very effective herb for cough. This ancient street acquired its name from the enormous number of huge Linden trees growing on both sides, in spring you see the trees totally covered in yellow from the tiny flowers, falling on the ground and spreading a very pleasant smell in the air. But the street and its beautiful trees are not the main target of this post, I am writing this to take you with me to the building number 2 in the street, a very beautiful and ancient building whose commisioning started in 1695 under the reign of King Friedrich I of Prussia. Given this date, the building is the oldest in the street and one of the most beautiful monuments recording the baroque era in Germany. The building kept serving as a military-owned one till it became officially a museum of the army in the end of the 19th century. After suffering severe destruction during the Second World War, the building was reconstructed keeping its original form and decoration (like all the German buildings) and was officially opened as the Museum of German History in 1952 serving mainly to focus on the Mrxist-Leninist view of history, as it lay in the eastern part of Berlin, belonging thus to the communist East Germany. Now let's enter the museum and see what it has to offer us in display. For sure, a German museum would carry the extremely organised fashion of anything that is German. The museum is divided into sections, each one leading to the other, covering a certain period in history, having a special colour theme, arrows and signs everywhere to lead you to the pieces in chronological order and in each section there is a brief account of the German history along with the detailed description of the pieces. The first room covers the period 100 BC-1500 AC; Early culture and the middle ages. You will see Celtic weapons and tools, Anglo-Saxon coins, Gothic jewlery, very old versions of the bible, an ancient Atlas- like book dated to 1493. Then smoothly you move to the room covering the period from 1500-1650 giving an account of the Reformation (creating the protestantic christianity) and the thirty years war, with the famous portray of Martin Luther and a very unique metal armour. In the next room you get encountered by history of the period 1650-1789 covering the severe conflict on power between Prussia and Austria. The next room greets you with Napoleon's huge portrait in his glorious royal clothes as it covers the period 1789-1871 with the French revolution and its effect on the German empire, with the bases of democracy being established. You will also see the first steam machine dated 1847, Then you feel a huge leap in history with second room covering the period 1871-1918 as it focuses mainly on Bismarck, the famous German ruler who holds a very important place in German history creating a very powerful German Empire and also gives details of the First World War, in this room you will see in real and just in front of your eyes the first car ever invented, the Automobile dated 1898! Then the next room covers the post war period of 1918-1933, with a focus on the Weimar republic, the first real and full democratic republic in the German history, which fell apart when Hitler rose to power in 1933. This Nazi period has one of the biggest rooms, it covers the period of 1933-1945, with details of the horrors of the Nazi regime and the Second World War. Here I have to stop and express my awe, never in my life have I seen a nation as strong and courageous as the Germans, standing up, showing bravely their darkest part of history, stating clearly that it was a "dark" age for humanity, showing a full movie on the horrors of the Nazi party, killing innocent people, burning anything that stands for freedom of thinking and giving Europe and the whole world a nightmare of terrorism. Again, I was so impressed, overwhelmed by the account of history in this room, the 30 minutes movie played and all the pieces that account for this age including the German daily newspapers glorifying Hitler and his regime, the most touching of all rooms.... What a brave people they are. Back to our toor, we are now in the room covering the post war period of 1945-1949, only 4 years deserve a full department in a huge museum? Yes, they do, during this period Germany was under the Allied occupation, the country was split into two, West (ruled by UK, France and USA) and East communist one ruled by Russia. The room shows shocking photos of post war Germany, totally destroyed, not a single building in whole, famine and diseases everywhere. How can a destroyed divided country become one of the most developed, the heart of Europe in less than 50 years? Well the next and last room covering the period 1949 till modern times, giving a detailed account on the famous unification of the two countries after the breaking of the wall in 1989, and the speedy progress that the country has undertaken, becoming a world leader in economy, education, research, well we can say anything related to civilization. The last thing you see in the museum is a board saying that despite this huge progress that Germany has shown, it still has a long way to go in providing a "better" life to its citizens, paying back to the world for the terrible Nazi period and facing all the economical challenges ahead!!! I stayed for a little more than 5 hours in this building, enjoying every single minute, reacting with every single piece, adding more to my knowledge and great passion and respect to this great country and its people. A strange feeling of belonging was always accompanying me, I felt proud of the German inventions, of Bismarck, of Goethe, of the Weimar Republic, I felt ashamed of Hitler, of the war and all the innocent people burned in the holocaust. I felt proud of the strong people shocking the world by breaking the Berlin wall and unifying their separated country against the will of all the powerful countries. I felt.... well I couldn't help comparing Germany and Egypt, and then I had to run away from the place, going back to the beautiful street, switching on my i-pod to Beethoven's 5th Symphony and enjoying the rain and cold autumn of Berlin, telling myself, "enjoy ya Meto, give your mind a rest", if only I could. Are you still there? Good, keep with me for the next great museum.