History From Our Lifetime

This post is going to be very different from what most of you are accustomed to reading on my blogs. It is going to be fact-heavy, informational, less humorous, and somewhat more impersonal in many ways than what I usually write. But I hope that you will read it. I hope you will take the time to read what I have to say here, because while it may seem impersonal, I assure you that this post is a very important one for me to write. I know it's long; I know it is more detailed and less touchy-feeley. But it is an emotional piece for me, and I want to share it with you.

History is a subject from which I've often felt pretty far removed. Sure, I have an interest in the ancient, the classics, the medieval. But I've never really studied a historical event that truly evoked strong personal emotion for me. 

Until my trip to Berlin.

Most of you are probably assuming that I'm going to say that I found a new fascination with WWII; and you would be partially correct; but that is not what I'm talking about here.

Here I am talking about the era of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), known to English speakers as the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The informal name for the state, with which most of you will be more familiar, was East Germany. I will be referring to the era and state as the DDR in this post. 

This post is going to be primarily about my visit to the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, which was the most impactful three hours of my entire trip. But first, a brief history of the DDR. 

(I know, you're thinking "ugh, history," but  stick with me, this is important. Trust me, I am going into very little detail here, and I'm holding back a ton that I have learned that I want to share; I may do a more in-depth blog regarding post-WWII Germany later, but for now, I don't want to lose readers to TL;DR.)

Following the painful and devastating second world war, Germany was divided and occupied by the Allied forces. The DDR was the area of Germany occupied by Soviet Union during the Cold War period (1949-1990). The DDR economy was state owned, and poorly executed. As a result, emigration to the West became a problem; there was a particularly dramatic exodus of those with higher education and valuable skills. The population of the DDR declined rapidly, and it was determined by the State that measures must be taken to retain its citizens. That measure was a wall.

I won't continue in detail regarding the politics of the wall. Suffice it to say that crossing the wall legally was nearly impossible; and crossing the wall illegally was a serious crime.

It was a crime serious enough to warrant apprehension by the Stasi (the secret police of the DDR), and imprisonment in a Stasi prison, such as the one at Hohenschönhausen. 

Hohenschönhausen prison. Berlin, Germany

The tour of Hohenschönhausen included a detailed account of what it was like to be arrested and imprisoned there. Those attempting to escape the DDR were apprehended and forced into a small, windowless truck. With no way of knowing where they were going, they were driven around for hours; alone, bound, and frightened. They were not informed of the reason for their arrest. Now, those who were arrested in the act of escape knew the reason, but there were many who were arrested based on intel that they had plans to escape; or had merely expressed the desire to escape; or had been identified as an accomplice or a dissident. More on this later.

Prior to their initial interrogation and sentencing, prisoners were placed in a holding cell. 

These cells could "comfortably" accommodate two to four people for a few hours. The cells were shared by ten to fifteen detainees; sometimes for days. Most holding cells had no windows. There was no natural light, and no fresh air. There was a bucket in the corner for a toilet. The detainees had no way to know when they would be called for their interrogation. Sometimes there was not even room to lie down. These terrified people had committed no crime besides the desire for freedom. 

This cell had a window letting in natural light;
most cells were without windows, and
were nearly impossible to photograph.

The judgement took place in a small room, this time with a window so the accused could suffer a glimpse of the outside. The accused were offered no lawyer; no defense; and no opportunity to speak. They sat alone in a room, looking through a barred window at their judge, who announced to them their crime and imposed upon them their sentence. 

Once judged and sentenced, prisoners were kept in complete isolation. No one spoke to them, and they never saw another human being besides the one guarding them and leading them to and from their cell. 

 

Prisoners would go days with no human interaction, no fresh air, no way to read or write, and meager sustenance. They were not allowed to speak, sing, or otherwise entertain themselves. The tiny peepholes in the door provided constant surveillance, and the familiar, distressing sound of the metallic grate of the guard sliding the peephole cover opening became the thing of their nightmares. 

Our tour guide, Peter, demonstrating the
horrible peephole sound.

They were ordered to stand or sit during the day and to lie flat on their backs at night. Food and water was delivered three times a day, through a tiny hatch on the door. Their only fresh air and sunlight was their occasional escorted trips to the "Tiger Cage," the prison courtyard where they were allowed brief time to walk, exercise, and remember that there was a world outside of their concrete cell.

The "Tiger Cage"
This image is not mine; it is an uncredited image
found in a flickr.com archive. I could not
find the source to credit.

It was at this point in the tour that our very handsome and friendly guide, Peter, informed us that he had been among the prisoners.

Peter was not a prisoner at Hohenschönhausen, but at an identical facility in Dresden. Up to this point in the tour, the account was horrifying. From this point on, it was quite literally emotionally painful. Peter delivered the tour with such grace and eloquence, and responded so kindly and helpfully to our questions. The knowledge that he had endured such atrocities was heartbreaking.

Part of the imprisonment sentence included regular interrogation. A guard would come to escort you to your interrogation room. The guard was always silent; to ensure that you would not see another human being while being escorted, traffic lights were used at corners.

When the light was red, the guard would stop and order you to face the wall until the prisoner with right-of-way was out of sight.

Inside the interrogation room, your interrogator was your friend. Remember, this is the only human interaction you have had since your imprisonment. The interrogator would ask about your childhood; he would tell you about himself; he would ask about your favorite foods, if you liked to swim...

And then he would ask the real questions. Do any of your family members also have desires to leave the DDR? Who was helping you with your plan to leave? Who was going to leave with you? Tell me about these tunnels, are there more? 

And sometimes, you would talk. Because that is what you do after months or years of psychological torture and physical discomfort. And the times you talked would haunt you for the rest of your life.

We asked Peter how he could give these tours, realizing that he must be daily reliving this ordeal that none of us can even imagine. He told us that it was therapy for him. Sharing the experience with others and making sure that the political crimes of the Stasi were never forgotten provided him with healing. He explained that he was able to give the tours at Hohenschönhausen, but he was sure that he would never be able to visit the Stasi prison in Dresden. 

Peter, I admire you for sharing this with us so candidly, honestly, and passionately. This tour was an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my life. If you ever read this, I am the American lady who offered that the little yellow weed-flowers that occasionally grew in the Tiger Cage were called "Dandelions" in English. 

I thank you from the bottom of my heart. May the rest of your life be filled with freedom, love, comfort, and joy.

Sources:

• Information gleaned from various tours, memorials, and museums visited in Berlin, Germany
• Conversations with Lisa Beesley
• Wikipedia article on East Germany
• Wikipedia article on the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial
• Stiftung Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen website