When the sun set, I went on a bike ride to a) look for witches and b) look for neo-Nazis discretely observing the anniversary.
First stop: Hitler's bunker, the site of his and his wife Eva Hitler (formerly Braun)'s suicide and the erstwhile site of their graves.
As you can see, it's now a parking lot. (The bunker was mostly destroyed by the Soviets and later by the East German government, though the floor and walls are apparently still down there.) For years there was no sign. From what I've read, the city didn't mark the site to keep it from becoming a neo-Nazi shrine.
But according to the sign pictured above, since the movie Downfall came out, there's been so much interest that they put up said sign.
So, is it a neo-Nazi shrine? Well, there weren't any neo-Nazis lurking around. (I may have missed their real holiday, H.'s birthday.)
There was that guy with a camera and microphone just sitting by the sign (pictured). Hmmm, what was he up to? Waiting for a ride? Surreptitiously recording what was going on?
Sorry--I have no idea because I didn't ask him.
Additional Hitler/Braun trivia: Burned and then buried in the garden above the bunker, their remains did not rest there for long, but were dug up by the Soviets, identified with dental records and x-rays, and shipped to a KGB barracks near Magdeburg, Germany, where they languished until 1970, when the KGB fully cremated them and tossed the ashes in a river. The Soviets kept the story of the remains secret, and until the end of the Cold War a mystery surrounded the final whereabouts of the bodies.
Next stop: The search for witches!
Walpurgisnacht is an ancient pagan spring festival that involves witches jumping over bonfires. In Berlin, it got mixed up with May 1, which is the next day. May 1 or International Worker's Day, which is today (!!), involves left demos and rioting.
There used to be a big Walpurgisnacht party, which I guess often turned into a riot, in a park in the neighborhood in which I'm staying. I biked over there (pictured below).
It was pretty cool! I did see one little kid dressed as a witch. Lots of people where there, all drinking beer--punks, parents, people my age, older folks, little kids (they did not appear to be drinking beer). Also a bunch of bands. And fire juggling. And a bonfire.
Walpurgisnacht I guess is tamer than it once was. No rioting that I saw. But a whole army of police were in attendance, as they have been at every gathering of more than twenty people that I've ever been to in Berlin.
These police are the "Anti Conflict Team." They wore these vests. I was unsure whether the vests were working or not.
6 comments:
I had no idea the KGB stole Hitler's remains. That is amazing. But, then again, maybe if they had spent less time figuring out what to do with a the body of a dead leader and more time hunting down Nazi scientists, they wouldn't have lost the Cold War.
Europeans and their witches. Man. I prefer the co-opted Wiccan version of May 1st: Beltrane. Much more women friendly.
Thanks for all the fab history trivia! Sounds like Berlin is rockin on May Day! If you want to come visit Paris, we're here until the end of June (although I have to go back to the US between May 12th and June 2).
PS - is that Mauerpark?
Yeah, it's Mauerpark. Oh man, I would love to visit Paris (also Moscow!) but I'm only here for like 2 more weeks. I should have planned this trip better. It was short and spur-of-the-moment.
Next time?
Oh, and what's the deal with the Mitford's crank calling Hitler (speaking of Hitler trivia)?
Not to get all high culture right here, but there's an amazing Balanchine ballet called Walpurgisnacht. The highlight is when the dancers enter crazily with their hair down instead of in tight wads on their heads. In the ballet world, it is known as "fire at the hair salon."
Pretty outrageous for the ballet world.
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