This morning we visited Hohenschönhausen, a Stasi prison. Until the early 1990s, no East Germans even knew that the prison was there, as it was in a Soviet blackout zone--the area was not on any maps, and all surrounding buildings with views into the Stasi zone were filled with the homes of Stasi members in order to protect its secrecy. As a result, nonoe of the prisoners who were sentenced there even knew where they were located, making their stories both tragic and recent.
The prison is comprised of two main parts: the Submarine, or old building basement, was the first prison section. These rooms had no windows to the outside, often filled 4 people to a tiny room, and were dark and dank. Prisoners housed inside at this time were often subjected to physical torture. After this period, however, the prisoners sentenced to hard labor built the New Building.
This New Building had the capacity for windows, but also for complete terror. Prisoners here were not subjected to physical torture, but rather torture of the psychological kind. Before entering the prison, for crimes anywhere from trying to read a Western newspaper to not turning in school assignments, prisoners were kidnapped in a norma-looking van with no windows, driven around for upwards of three hours, and then brought immediately into the prison. They were sleep-deprived, barely fed, and provoked to becoming rowdy, all before being interrogated in every way possible. They would be routinely awoken in the middle of the night, were not allowed to make any noise, and would interact with absolutely no one except the interrogators through their entire stay and sentence. Even in their 20-minute sessions in the outdoor walking "tiger cages" one could not make noise...two weeks could be added to a sentence for coughing. No one ever escaped, making entering this prison even more despairing.
There were so many horrible things learned today, but one thing I found surprising was that Mychal's own brother spent time in this prison. One day he disappeared, and his family had no idea where or why. It was not until several weeks later that his teacher contacted the family and told them he had been arrested at school. The Stasi had spies, microphones, phone taps...and they managed to find out that the teacher gave information, which was treason, so the teacher was arrested, too. It is strange to think I am only a few degrees away from someone who spent time in this awful place.
After visiting the prison we were given free time to visit any museum of our choice. After grabbing a delicious lunch of fish and chips at an Irish-style pub, Emily and I went to the Neue Museum, dedicated to Ancient Egypt, Prehistory, and Early History through the Roman empire. This museum was AMAZING! It has been housed in the same building since the 1800s, but due to destruction in the War much of it was destroyed. Therefore the inside is now partially reconstructed, much like the New Synagogue, so that you can both see the opulence that once graced the walls and reflect on what history has done to them. The museum has a phenomenal collection of ancient artefacts, and it was here that I began to notice the distinctly German way of organizing museums: rather than displaying items by country, they are displayed by date and thematic similarity. It really made for a unique museum experience, and was actually a lot more sensical. I am so glad we chose that museum!
Following this we travelled back to Potsdam (my favorite place so far) and went to a Bach concert in the Erlöser Church. The church is very old, and happens to be in the seat of one of Bach's favorite places in the world (he named the Brandenburg Concerti after this state!). Hearing the Weinachtsoratorium (Christmas Eve Oratorio) in this beautiful old church was honestly one of the most authentically German music experiences I've ever had. And to top it all off, Mychal was in the choir! There was a lovely Christmas Markt outside the church where we had a lovely dinner before and got to talk with Heika some more, and then attended the concert of the first three "Teils" of the Oratorio. Sehr gut!
Following this, Emily, Jessica, and I went into downtown Potsdam to explore a bit, since it was Saturday night, after all. We first went to the Cafe Franz Schubert so I could take some pictures...man, I wish I could go there when it was open! A cafe dedicated to my all-time favorite (and don't forget German) composer, and so cute inside! But I'm glad I at least got to see it. We walked through the Markt, and then through downtown, before catching a tram to the Hauptbanhof (main train station) and taking the S-Bahn (elevated train) back to our hotel.
The evening in Potsdam was a wonderful way to counteract the dreary morning, and I really enjoyed this day. Tomorrow I travel to the opera...I can't wait! It's going to be amazing! Auf Wiedersehn!
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