Part 2

We had a 7:30 breakfast time at the hostel this a.m., so we headed out around 9 or so to our tour of the former Stasi Prison, Hohenschonhausen. I actually had no idea, but it was also used as a USSR secret service prison after the war, but before the wall was built (1945-1961). We examined the cells from that time frame, and they were awful. All fourteen of us could BARELY fit standing in an empty cell, and apparently the Russians crammed up to 12 people in each damp, moldy, cell with a giant bed consuming one entire half of the room. It was rough to think of the filth those people lived in for weeks on end. Apparently, because of the amount of carbon dioxide being exhaled and the warmth of so many bodies, the ceiling would literally begin to condensate and drip on the already downtrodden prisoners and create growing mold on their clothes and hair. We also toured where the Russians tortured their political prisoners. Forms of waterboarding seemed to be the worst. It was really emotional to walk into a room in which dozens maybe hundreds of people were tortured. I found myself praying for the poor souls who spent time in there, and it almost seemed as if they were still there partially. Now, that sounds sort of crazy as if I was seeing people, but I intended it to mean I could only imagine the amount of suffering wrought in each room. We then entered the Stasi portion of the prison occupied by (of course) the German secret police from 1961-1990. We headed upstairs and met a much more comfy looking cell. It only appeared comfy, though, because we didn’t know what other forms of torture were going on behind the soundproof walls. Each prisoner was given an individual cell with a bed, desk, sink, and toilet. It looked pretty humane to me on the first glance. Then, our awesome tour guide told us about the more subtle psychological torture. The prisoners could not sit or lay anywhere in the room for twelve hours of the day (the daytime), they were referenced only by their cell number. When brought to interrogation, a red-light/green-light system was implemented so that the prisoner never saw another prisoner or more than one guard at a time. The guards did not speak to the prisoners if at all possible. The prisoner wasn’t allowed to sing, hum, speak aloud, or sleep in a position other than on his or her back. Basically, the prisoner was BEGGING to go to interrogation just for human contact. Just the thought of being on my feet for twelve hours a day in solitude only to be awakened later in the evening if I turned over on my side by accident was enough to make me cringe. We then moved on to the padded isolation cells, which were I guess the typical isolation cells: terrible. Lastly, we went to the 100 identical interrogation rooms. The rooms are literally undisturbed, and have kind of 80’sish décor. It was weird to think that so many interrogations could be going on at once and a prisoner would never see or hear another inmate. We went out to the courtyard and saw the rose bushes planted by the Stasi hired staff physician. Apparently, he liked to defy his oath to help those in need of medical care then run out to garden some of the prettiest rose bushes I’ve ever seen. How lovely. After the Stasi tour, we headed to a quick lunch at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof and then to the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche. It was built for the second to last emporer of what is now Germany right before the turn of the 20th century. It was hit by a bomb which hollowed out the steeple and left a gaping, open-air hole in the church in 1943. It remained that way for several years, until they patched in a roof. The lack of a steeple still remains…also a super-creepy semi-mangled Jesus statue. We then saw the new church across the street. It’s where all of the services are now held. Afterwards, we headed to the gigantic mall called the KaDaWe?and spent an hour and a half looking around. It was built by the West Berliners to make the East Berliners jealous (of wealth and freedom, I suppose). Next, we stopped by the dorm to change for the Opera, and headed to Handel’s Orlando. I highly enjoyed it, even though it was a modern adaptation! It’s bedtime, though. ‘Night!