berlin

I'm currently in Berlin, researching a project set in East Germany...or the GDR (German Democratic Republic) as it's more precisely known...or the DDR if you use the German-language abbreviation.

The same thing can have a lot of names here, given the vagaries of language and politics. The Stasi, the dreaded East German secret police agency that features prominently into the research I'm doing, is also referred to as the MfS, using the German abbreviation of its full name, Ministry for State Security. The Berlin Wall (inside Berlin) or Inner German Border (across the whole country) was the Anti-Fascist Protection Wall to the GDR government...although a cursory glance at its design will reveal its intent was to keep East Germans in, not fascists out.

Berlin is a lovely city, chill and inviting despite all the waves of history that have crashed over it. Or perhaps because of them. A first-time visitor will be surprised at how modern the architecture in this historic city is--until he or she remembers that great swaths of it were leveled during WWII. Twenty years after reunification, the dividing line between East and West has been almost completely erased. Other than in official monuments--of which there are many, some excellent, others cheesy--it remains only in codes and shadows: a street name here, an unrenovated building there. And traffic lights. For some reason the East German-style traffic lights have become a kind of fetish object. There is a whole store selling items detailed with the little green walking man in the hat and his red counterpart, standing still with his arms out straight to the sides.

I have much more to say about the history I've been learning, which I'll save for another post, coming shortly. Suffice to say it's fascinating and I'm excited to be here. Oh, and the public transportation is excellent.