Social Diary 6/2/05 - JH's letter from Berlin, continued ...

JH's letter from Berlin, continued ...

Outside the Philharmonic in Berlin minutes before the Israel Philharmonic's historic performance. Photo: JH.

The Nazis attempted to make life so unpleasant for the Jews in Germany that they would emigrate. The campaign started in April, 1933, when a one-day boycott of Jewish-owned shops took place.

A resident of this apartment building on Haberland street pays homage to Albert Einstein where Einstein once resided. That building has since been demolished.

The hostility of towards Jews increased in Germany. This was reflected in the decision by many shops and restaurants not to serve the Jewish population. Placards saying "Jews not admitted" and "Jews enter this place at their own risk" began to appear all over Germany. In some parts of the country Jews were banned from public parks, swimming-pools and public transport.

Germans were also encouraged not to use Jewish doctors and lawyers. Jewish civil servants, teachers and those employed by the mass media were sacked. After Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) the numbers of Jews wishing to leave Germany increased dramatically. It's been calculated that between 1933 and 1939, approximately half the Jewish population of Germany (250,000) left the country.

Which left approximately 250,000 Jews that stayed, choosing to live under these circumstances — a large segment being those Jews married to Germans. They believed themselves to be German first, and Jews second, and that miscalculation cost many of them their lives.

I bring all this up because on Sunday we walked through an exhibit near Bayerische Viertel (Bavarian Quarter) where before World War II many prominent Jews once lived, including Albert Einstein. The exhibit consists of 80 pictographs fastened on various street lamps in the area. Each pictograph represents a restrictive laws passed against the Jews between 1933 to 1942.

Loose translation: Jews may be fired without compensation.

Loose translation: Jew aren't permitted to read newspapers and magazines.

Loose translation: Streets bearing the names of German Jews must be changed. In this case (in 1938), Haberland strasse was changed to Noerdlinger strasse because the man it was named after, Saloman Haberland, was Jewish. A wrong has been set right as the street today again bears Mr. Haberland's name.

Berlin is known for its art scene so at the suggestion of my sister Stefanie (who's a budding art historian), we broke off from the group so we could check out some of the galleries. We narrowed our search down to Sophien street (pictured right) where at least seven or eight art galleries call home. It's a charming, seemingly quiet little street, that is until we spotted the throngs shopping in the courtyards just beyond the facades of the buildings that line the street.

Mein Gott at Galerie Barbara Thumm on Dircksenstrasse

Galerie Jarmuschek und Partner

Left: An blank canvas; Above: Luft Gallery at Abel Neue Kunst gallery presents canadian artists Mark Delong and Jason McLean. This exhibition is part of the Berlin/Toronto Exchange.

L. and r.: Jan Peter Tripp at Asperger Gallery.

L. to r.: The courtyard leading to the Contemporary Fine Arts gallery where they are exhibiting Tal R, House of Prince.

The following day we went to the Martin-Gropius-Bau museum. They are staging the exhibit The New Hebrews — A Century of Art in Israel in cooperation with the Israel Museum, Jerusalem and the Berliner Festspiele to commemorate the 40th anniversary of formal diplomacy between Germany and Israel. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us photograph any of the works in the exhibit, so I have nothing to show you.

But trust me when I say the exhibition is fantastic. The story behind the exhibition deals with modern Israeli culture from its emergence around a century ago up to present day. It begins in the early 20th century well before 1948. And it's devoted primarily to visual culture with an emphasis on art, architecture, film, photography, and design.The exhibition was conceived by Doreet LeVitte Harte, who curated the whole show (along with Yigal Zalmona) and gave us a guided tour chock-full of goodies about each and every piece.

About 700 objects were on display, the majority from the field of modern and contemporary art, but the crème de la crème according to Ms. Harte was the Temple Scroll dated from 120 B.C. Discovered in 1956 near Qumran by the Dead Sea it is considered to be one of the most significant archeological finds of the 20th century. The main part of the Temple Scroll has been restored and when looking it over, you realize you're basically reading a collective journal, uncovering the historical self-consciousness of the New Hebrews.

Inside and outside the Martin-Gropius-Bau Berlin

Remains of the historic Grand Hotel Esplanade in the Sony Center of Potsdamer Platz

In the center of Berlin at Potsdamer Platz is the Sony Center. Built in 2000, it's a massive area covering about 100,000 square-feet providing space for a combination of living, working, and entertaining. The office tower of the Sony Center was mistaken by some in the group to be the glass dome of the Reichstag. Meaning, it's quite impressive. In addition to the Sony Center, there are residential and commercial buildings everywhere in the area.

All this might not sound like much, but 10 years ago Potsdamer Platz was a pile of dirt, and the only original building still standing, having survived both the war and demolition of the Berlin Wall, was Weinhaus Huth (see pic below).

L. to r.: Weinhaus Huth with Diekmann's restaurant on the ground floor; A Robert Rauschenberg sculpture, representing a bridge to the modern and rejuvenated spirit of Berlin today.

Above: The Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin from a distance. The permanent exhibition in the museum displays important developments and events from around 200 years of aviation history in Germany.

Right: A pack of Alaskan Huskies taking a break from pulling a sled with wheels around Potsdamer Platz. Don't ask.

Above and left: The dome of the office tower of the Helmut Jahn-designed Sony Center, a complex comprising seven buildings; Above, left: Mimi Leibman, Marcel Lindenbaum, and Jack Fliderbaum under the dome of the Sony Center.

The interior of China Club

Dinner and drinks at Germany's most exclusive private club, the China Club. It had just moved into two upper floors and the roof terrace of the new building next to the Adlon Hotel so it was conveniently located for this group. We had drinks on the roof before dinner with a fantastic view of Berlin and the new Holocaust Memorial directly below.

The food was taaaasty and many were craving Chinese food so it was perfect timing. The owner of the club asked us what the best chinese restaurant in New York was. Most said Shun Lee. I told him to go to Chinatown.