Going into this documentary, I felt that I had a lot to
learn about Berlin, and even Germany as a whole. Although there were many
points that this documentary made, there were a few topics that struck me:
Frederick the Great and The Berlin Wall tied with East Berlin. Frederick the
Great was essentially a mold for the total beliefs of Germany, in more ways
than one. The Berlin Wall, created by East Berlin was a theme of Germany for
many years, but truly helped create a united Germany rather than a separate Germany.
Without these two topics in German history, Germany and Berlin would not be the
same.
Frederick of Prussia, commonly known as Fritz, was a prince
born into the position. His predecessor was his father, also named Frederick.
Frederick the First aspired for his child to be an aggressive, military child;
he wanted him to be a rebel, strong leader. Naturally, Fritz sought to be
completely opposite, even adapting the philosophical views of Voltaire.
Although he studied a more philosophical life, the military whims still pulsed
through his veins; he was a strong, militant leader, despite his desire for a
peaceful life. Because of choosing to follow in the military footsteps of his
father, he made great strides in aggressive takeover in war and in land, which created
a contradictory view of him as a leader and person. For example, Hitler’s
prized possession was a portrait of Fritz. Hitler’s fascination with Fritz’s
ideals of military takeover, of sorts, most likely molded Hitler’s views of
Germany, and therefore helped mold Nazi ideals. After the Second World War, and
Berlin has been separated, East Berliners had never called him “Frederick the
Great,” but rather, “Frederick the Second,” as he had done nothing great in
their eyes. Despite the different views of Frederick, however, his ideas were
bound to the city as it entered new phases in its development. Overall,
Frederick is a wonderful representation of Germany and its conflicting ideals.
Germany was constantly in limbo of being a symbol of militarism or idealism,
oppression versus liberation, and that was also the internal struggle of
Frederick the Great. It is interesting to me that his conflicts in his personal
life of being more aggressive or philosophical were idealized by Hitler into
the Nazi Regime, and carried on for centuries after his death. He was mentioned
throughout the documentary, which proves how influential his legacy was and is
to Berlin and Germany as a whole.
This is the portrait of Frederick the Great that would have resembled the portrait that Hitler loved so much. Frederick's influence on Germany is one of a kind, a true mix of love and dislike.
Sansoucci, the palace of Frederick the Great, located in Potsdam right outside of Berlin. He was more recently laid to rest here, and we will be seeing this palace when we are in Germany, I believe.
Growing up, I had always known Germany as its own country.
For a long time, years even, I did not know that Germany had been separated politically,
but also physically by the Berlin Wall. West Berlin was a capitalist territory,
and East Berlin was a communist territory, controlled by Russia. These
conflicting political views had been present for a long time, but really came
into play once Berlin had been destroyed in the war, and many East Berliners
had fled to the capitalist West Berlin. As a response, East Berlin constructed
the Berlin Wall in efforts to keep those people out of the West, even though
three million people had already made their escape. Until watching this
documentary, I had no idea just how much the Berlin Wall had shaped Germany.
For too long, West Berlin had become a voluntary prison, as the wall surrounded
this area alone; people were happy to be there, though, because of its
capitalist views and freer lifestyle. East Berlin interests me because although
many people were trying to escape it, others flocked in, like the Northern
Vietnamese. In search of work to fill in the millions of spots open, the
Vietnamese made their way into East Berlin, and this was okay with this
territory because it created more allies and connections globally, even though
these Vietnamese people were undesired after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Again, I see a connection to the Berlin Wall with Germany’s conflicting ideals
as a whole. Germany, for centuries sought to have a certain set of ideas to run
the country, but the conflicts between sides would not allow for resolution.
The Berlin Wall was a physical representation of seclusion of ideas rather than
settlement and progress from that. Once it was torn down in 1989, Germany was a
united country, which helped unify Europe, as well. Although the fall of the
Wall did not change history’s path, as it was predicted that it would
eventually have been torn down and communism would have collapsed, it shortened
the process and almost nonviolently. Germany had been separated by its own
people, but the Wall came down by those same citizens, who desired a united
Germany after years of separated ideas and territory.
A depiction of the wall's separation of West and East Berlin. As it would be portrayed by East Berlin at the time, West Berlin is white, as if it does not exist.
This is a photograph of the Berlin Wall as it would have looked while it was constructed. A side view of the Brandenburg Gate is in the background. Although the height of the wall was not great, it symbolized a torn Germany, and it kept many people from escaping a communist East to a capitalist West.
All in all, Germany was a complex land whose leaders and
borders were conflicting and unable to commit to one set of ideals. These
events shaped Germany in the past, but also help mold the future into one set
of ideals. Without leaders like Fritz, who internally battled with viewpoints
and the separation of the country itself, Germany may continue to not know
exactly what it wants for itself and not be unified like we see today.
Word Count (without pictures): 864
Citations:
Bamman, Mattie. "Sansoucci: The Palace of Frederick the Great." Europe Up Close. 11 June 2014. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. http://europeupclose.com/article/sanssouci-the-palace-of-frederick-the-great/
Frei, Matt. "Berlin - Culture & History." YouTube. YouTube, 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2AADC66884A22F0D.
Lander, Sebastian. "The Fall of the Berlin Wall 20 Years On: How to Join Germany's Anniversary Celebrations." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 9 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1224183/The-fall-Berlin-Wall-20-years-join-Germanys-anniversary-celebrations.html>.
"The Berlin Wall & The Death Strip – Checkpoint Charlie." The Berlin Wall & The Death Strip – Checkpoint Charlie. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. <http://www.berlinmost.info/berlin_wall_death_strip_checkpoint-charlie_document-centre_cold_war.php>.
"The Frederick the Great Collection." Germania International. Web. 12 Sept. 2014. <http://www.germaniainternational.com/great.html>.
