Although the Plötzensee Memorial is a very somber place, it was nice to have a beautiful blue sky above on the day I visited. I originally heard about this spot after reading Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada. It's a fiction book based on a true story of a couple in Berlin who wrote postcards against Hitler and the Nazis and distributed them around Berlin. The couple went three years before being caught and were eventually tried and executed here at the Plötzensee prison.
If you sit on the benches in my first shot, you have a perfect view of the Memorial wall. It says, "To the victims of the Hitler dictatorship, years 1933 -1945". It's a very simple, yet moving reminder that we must never forget those terrible times.
PS: I am posting photos from my recent trip to Paris on my other photoblog, Halcyon Travels. Please stop by and take a look. You can click here or on the link on the right side of this page. Enjoy!
PS: I am posting photos from my recent trip to Paris on my other photoblog, Halcyon Travels. Please stop by and take a look. You can click here or on the link on the right side of this page. Enjoy!
Wonderful photos. It is so sad that so many camps were built for the sole purpose of killing, I don't think any of us will forget.
ReplyDeleteGood post, Halcyon!
ReplyDeleteThanks. There's more tomorrow.
Deletethe blue sky does cheer things up a bit. thanks for your sharing of this spot.
ReplyDeleteSad and morose, though I do like the contrast between the sky and the structures.
ReplyDeleteThe true story behind Alone In Berlin sounds so moving and sad! So many unsung heroes during that War! Glad there is a Memorial to help us all not forget.
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend the book. It's a gripping story, I could hardly put it down.
DeleteHow many other inocent people like that were killed there I wonder. A sad reminder of our past which seems never goes away even in this day & age
ReplyDeleteAlmost 3,000 people were executed here and Plötzensee by the Nazis. The majority of them were political dissidents.
DeleteThe prison in the background certainly contributes to the stark sober atmosphere. Its indeed a sad place to be.
ReplyDeleteThat first photo kind of gave me a shiver when I first opened your site.
ReplyDeleteSomber place indeed. I'm glad there are memorials like this so people will never forget. I will have to check out that book.
ReplyDeleteSuch simplicity and how lovely!
ReplyDeletei can't imagine seeing this in person...i get chills just from the photos...
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering who visits this prison now. Are the visitors mostly German or are they from other countries? Anything to do with the Nazis must be difficult for Germans, even those who were born after the Second World War. They have so much to be proud of now but the Nazi past must be forever haunting them.
ReplyDeleteIt is a strikingly simple memorial.
ReplyDeleteIt's encouraging that there's courage to face such an ugly past.
ReplyDeleteAll over Berlin are reminders of our very ugly and horrible past. Never to forget and never to be repeated...anywhere in the world.
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence! Yesterday I (re)watched "Sophie Scholl", a great German movie: same story in Munich.
ReplyDelete