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How I Spent My Sommer Vacation - Part IX (July 12th):
DEUTSCHES HISTORISCHES MUSEUM

That's the "German History Museum" for those of you who need to get out more. With this blog entry you can take it or leave it (as opposed to the other blog entries, which you MUST take)... This is basically a tour through the museum describing some of the cool things I saw while visiting the German History Museum in Berlin.

The great thing about this museum is that it covers the history of what went on in Germany from as far back as there are artifacts of anything (the Celts) to the present day. The museum was huge and I got a little rushed at the end, so I hope to return someday. I took pictures of some of the things that were most interesting to me as I went through this museum. Some of the pictures are of a poor quality because flash photography was not allowed and I didn't have time to make every photo a work of art.

That said, here it is: THE HISTORY OF GERMANY in a Nußschale...

The earliest artifacts on display at the museum were of Celtic origin. The Celts were a loosely related group of tribes that lived in Europe from before 1200 BC until they were absorbed and conquered by the Romans and Germanic tribes in the early centuries AD.

Here are some iron trinkets and coins. One of them, I believe, is a stretch penny with Stonehenge.... (*laughter*)



Here are some more Celtic tools, archaeologists believe the spade in the middle was used by Larry Bird.



And also a Celtic sword...



Then, of course, the Romans conquered much of western and southern Germany.

"Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your noses..."




Here is a tiled Roman floor, in remarkable completeness, from the Rhine River area.




Pegasus X-ing




Then there is the Medieval Age with knights and kings and armour...



and swords and Heath Ledger...




More artifacts from the armouries of the High Middle Ages...




Of course, we all remember from history class how in the Late Middle-Ages and early Renaissance it was a common practice of the Catholic Church to sell indulgences. Basically it was a "get out of sin FREE" card that allowed church members to receive forgiveness for their sins for a price.

Here is an actual note of indulgence from the 1503.




As you will also remember from history class, there was one man who realized the error of the Church's ways and decided to put a stop to it: Martin Luther (1483-1546)...

Here is the most famous original portrait of Martin Luther...




Not only did the selling of indulgences bother him, but 94 other things. He wrote these things down and then nailed them to the door of the church in Wittenburg. These papers are known as the "95 Theses."

Here is an original edition of Martin Luther's "Disputation" from 1517, that contains the 95 Theses.



Here is a first-edition Luther New Testament from 1522, but first a quote from Wikipedia about the Luther Bible:

The Luther Bible contributed to the emergence of the modern German language and is regarded as a landmark in German literature. The 1534 edition was influential on William Tyndale's translation, a precursor of the King James Bible.




Another German Bible from 1578:




Here is Turkish armour from the 16th century:




Here is a page from 16th century book called "Great & Small Travels." This page has an illustration and description of "Cusco Taken by the Spanish."




This book is "The New Cookbook" by Rachel Ray. Frankfurt, 1587. Now that's an old New Cookbook...




This book is "The Complete Book of Carving," 1650, Nürnberg. It is complete with illustrations showing one how carve a plump hen. From what I can tell from the picture, the carver must have three hands: two for the carving and one for conducting music while the carving is taking place....






Speaking of carving, here are some cool daggers from the 1640's. The one in the middle is especially rad with secret switch-blade action...




Before the 1600's most people believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe and all other celestial bodies, like the Sun, moved around it. Johannes Kepler discovered, through careful observation, that the planets were moving around the Sun and the stars moved in their own manner.

Here is his book "Tabula Rudolphina" from 1627 that cataloged the movement of over a thousand stars and planets. The National Enquirer is modern day example of such a catalogue...




The Ottoman Empire (Turks) was one of the great threats to Europe in the 17th century. They conquered the Balkans and Hungary and even laid siege to Vienna itself. They were repulsed in this attempt and here is one of the tents with gear that was left behind in 1683. It made me hungry for a döner kebab without the onions.




Here is a Paper Theatre from 1730. This was an early version of 3-D with multiple layers of illustrations making a complete scene. Below is an early version of Shark Boy vs. Lava Girl 3D....




One of the great German composers was Georg Friederich Händel. He composed some of the greatest operas and oratorios of the 18th century including The Messiah. As court composer for the Elector of Hanover, he had to move to London when his boss was crowned as King George I of England. Here is an original portrait....




Next to the portrait of Handel was this unfortunate (for Handel) portrait of a court dwarf from the 18th century. Dwarfs were often hired as entertainers for the royalty at this time. I was a little curious, however, how he managed to be made into a Star Wars action figure.




Here is 3-in-1 Women's Gaming Table from the 1750's. It was featured in early episodes of The Price Is Right, when Bob Barker was young.



Here is another 3-in-1 game from the 1750's, this time for real men. It included billiards, on top, an early version of pinball, and another game called "Kanon Gam" which I wasn't real clear about but I think it might be featured here somewhere.




Here's a closeup of the pinball game. My guess is that the points were just as meaningless then. (You just randomly flipped the pinball into the mouth of the velociraptor, that's 600000000000 points!)



Here are grenadiers' uniforms from 1812. (*que 1812 Overture*)




Remember how Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in 1815? Well did you know that he left in such a hurry that he abandoned his carriage with his personal effects inside? Well he did. And a couple of lucky Prussian soldiers found the carriage and got to keep his hat as a souvenir. Lucky for us it is now on display at the German History Museum.




Here is Napoleon's hat and sword, you can see the faded "Vote for Pedro" ribbon is still attached to the hat.




There's no question that the 1850's were just creepy. This is evident in the fact that this doll and everything about her just give me the heebie-jeebies.

"Come and play inside my house..."




Another of the great German composers was Felix Mendelssohn... original portrait:




One of his most popular series of works was his "Songs Without Words" for the piano. Here is an edition of these pieces from the 1850's. Inside are great piano miniatures that were enjoyed in living rooms across Europe. Some of the songs you would be sure to recognize if you heard them. So appreciate this picture already!




Ah yes, the Brothers Grimm... famous for compiling a book of fairytales which included such classics as Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Treasure Planet. They are also famous in linguistics for demonstrating "Grimm's Law." This law demonstrates how fricatives evolve, and that's frica'n awesome.

Here is an original Grimm German Dictionary. If you look closely you will see a striking resemblance to Matt Damon and Heath Ledger....




About which German scientist and explorer are these people talking about:

Thomas Jefferson: "I consider him the most important scientist whom I have ever met."

Simón Bolivar: "[He] has done more for America than all its conquerors, he is the true discoverer of America."

Wolfgang von Goethe: "[He] showers us with treasures."

Charles Darwin: "He was the greatest traveling scientist who ever lived." - "I have always admired him; now I worship him."

Robert G. Ingersoll: "He was to science what Shakespeare was to the drama."

The answer is Alexander von Humbolt of course. This German explorer and scientist from the early 18oo's worked in several different areas of science. Most notably, he traveled to South America exploring rivers in the Amazon, mountains in the Andes, and all the animals, plants, and people in between. He helped lay the foundations for modern geography and meteorology.



Humbolt has the following things named after him, either in vernacular nomenclature or taxonomic:

Two mountain ranges, a river, and a current in South America, a bay in Northern California, a national forest in Peru, a mountain, a basin on the Moon, four US cities, three US counties, a junior high and high school in Minnesota, the University of Berlin, several trees and shrubs, a river dolphin, a penguin, a squid, a lily, an orchid, a hog-nosed skunk, and a bladderwort.

You know you've made it in the science world when you have both a junior high and a skunk named after you. I wonder if the bladderwort is the mascot for the junior high. I hope not. "Humbolt Bladderworts leeeeeeet's GO!"


In his later years he compiled his research and lecture notes into a series of volumes entitled Kosmos. Here is an original edition from 1858:



For hundreds of years "Germany" didn't really exist but as a loose confederation of different Germany speaking regions. Saxony, Bavaria, Hanover, Prussia, Westphalia, Hamburg, Holstein, Thuringia, and many others all existed as independent kingdoms, or free cities. It was in Prussia that an able politician rose through the ranks to become the leader that would unite all of these states and create a unified Germany. That leader was Otto von Bismark. With the exception of a few years, his life spanned the entirety of the 19th century. While often criticized for his sometimes oppressive domestic policies, and his aggravation of France, he nonetheless balanced German foreign policy so carefully and adroitly that he managed to avoid any major conflicts within the brewing hornet's nest that was Europe at this time. He even warned of the likelihood of a great European war starting in the Balkans (which WWI did) and tried as he could to avoid it.

Everybody knows him best from pictures like this. Here is a blurry picture of his uniform...




And that famous helmet...




While Otto von Bismark was the Prime Minister of Germany, Wilhelm I was the "Kaiser." He was sensible enough to play a mostly supporting role to Bismark in the unification of Germany. Wilhelm's full name is:

His Imperial and Royal Majesty Wilhelm the First, by the Grace of God, German Emperor and King of Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern, Duke of Silesia and of the County of Glatz, Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and of Posen, Duke in Saxony, of Angria, of Westphalia, of Pomerania and of Lunenburg, Duke of Schleswig, of Holstein and of Krossen, Duke of Magdeburg, of Brene, of Guelderland and of Jülich, Cleves and Berg, Duke of the Wends and the Kassubes, of Lauenburg and of Mecklenburg, Landgrave of Hesse and in Thuringia, Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia, Prince of Orange, of Rugen, of East Friesland, of Paderborn and of Pyrmont, Prince of Halberstadt, of Münster, of Minden, of Osnabrück, of Hildersheim, of Verden, of Kammin, of Fulda, of Nassau and of Moess, Princely Count of Henneberg, Count of the Mark, of Ravensburg, of Hohenstein, of Tecklenburg and of Lingen, Count of Mansfield, of Sigmaringen and of Veringen, Lord of Frankfurt, etc.

...he hated writing checks.

In 1878 an anarchist made an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Wilhelm. Here is the pendant that Wilhelm was wearing complete with blood stains still visible...




Creating a German Empire wasn't easy, and certain political viewpoints and movements were outlawed. A secret police helped to control these dissidents. Below is a spy camera from 1868. That's 1868 people! A spy camera! It's hard to tell from the picture, but it's about the size of a small saucer and was meant to be hidden behind the shirt or jacket with the lens poking out through a button hole. 1868!




Here are some classic helmets from Imperial Germany around the turn of the century. The trademark poky tops were meant to help with camouflage. If a soldier was hiding in the bushes and the enemy was approaching, the enemy would just see the little poker on top and think it was a nearby church steeple.




Wilhelm the First's grandson, Wilhelm the Second, became Kaiser in the 1880's. He clashed considerably with the aging Bismark, and after Bismark died in 1898 Wilhelm II helped steer Germany into the great mess that was World War I.

Here is a German WWI uniform. You can see the blend of the older more ornate uniform style and the newer, more utilitarian uniform style of the 20th century.




Here is an American WWI uniform....




WWI grenades, potato-mashers, and ammo...




WWI machine guns and weapons....




Four WWI helmets each with a bullet hole...




Here is the uniform of Wilhelm II from the First World War. The irony is that Wilhelm II was a grandson of Queen Victoria of England and was holding her in his arms at the moment of her death in 1901. A little more than a decade later Germany and England would be wartime enemies.




After Germany's defeat in WWI the empire was dissolved and a new government was instituted. This was known as the Weimar Republic. Flawed policies, violence from left-wing and right-wing extremists, impossible war reparation debts, and a sinking economy made this period between the two world wars a difficult time for Germany.

Inflation was so bad during this time that bills were printed in the amount of "A Billion Marks." It was actually cheaper to burn the money, in some instances, than to buy firewood.



Swimming was still a popular past-time. Here are some bathing suits from the 1920's.




The deteriorating economic conditions became so extreme that many Germans were relieved and hopeful when a powerful and charismatic leader named Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933.

Hitler believed that Germany should be an empire once again and eventually called Germany the "Third Reich." He chose the symbol of the swastika as the emblem of the National Socialist Party, or the Nazis.

Before Hitler, the swastika was a popular good-luck symbol in Europe and here it is on the helmet of the Erhart brigade from 1920.




Soon the world would come to associate the swastika with Nazism however. Hitler rebuilt the German army promising a strong new Germany with plenty of "breathing room" in the center of Europe. World War II was the result.

Here is an original Nazi flag from the 1930's...




Here is a classic Nazi uniform from World War II....




Here are several different Nazi uniforms from the 1930's....




Hitler's elite guard corps was known as the "SS" a German abbreviation for "Protective Squadron." It was this group under the command of Hitler and Himmler that was primarily responsible for the crimes against humanity that occurred under Nazi rule.

Here is an SS uniform...



...and some SS belongings....




Now, I'm not sure how this picture is designed to promote the Hitler Youth movement; it's creepy any way you look at it....




Here is a Japanese helmet from World War II....




Here is a British warplane shot down over Germany...




Here is a British cluster bombshell. It was bombs like these that caused so much damage to German cities during WWII...






This is a German Anti-Aircraft Canon. Towards the end of the war, these guns were operated by boys as young as 14...




Germany was defeated by the Allied forces in 1945. The Allies divided up Germany into four parts, the American sector, the French sector, the British sector, and the Russian sector. The American, French, and British sectors were combined to become West Germany, while the Russian sector, under the influence of communist Russia became East Germany-one of the satellites states of the USSR.

Here is one of the many border markers that divided Germany...




Berlin, in the heart of East Germany, was also divided between the Allies, creating East and West Berlin. The Berlin Wall was constructed to divide the city and became a symbol of the Cold War between the Soviets and the West. Here is a piece...




West Germany worked hard to overcome its war-torn past and capitalism reigned. The Volkswagen company, started in the 1930's, is now the third largest automaker in the world. VW is best known for this little guy (1951)....




Before you reach out to punch someone, look at this...

On the other side of Germany communists automakers created the Trabant. This was the car of East Germany and was found throughout the Eastern Bloc countries. For some it represented all that was wrong with Communism, having not changed significantly in production for nearly 30 years....




The Cold War cooled down (or warmed up??) in the 1980's. Under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, the USSR underwent a period of economic reconstruction known as "perestroika." This was the beginning of the end for Communism in Europe. Here is an autographed copy of Gorbachev's book, "Perestroika."



You know that scene from Return of the Jedi where Luke is dragging Darth Vader's body to the shuttle to get him off the Death Star before it explodes. I remember watching this scene as a kid in the 80's and my brother Mike remarking, "this would be like if Ronald Regan were dragging Gorbachev."

...well, maybe not quite, but Regan was very active in the fight against Communism. He came to Berlin in 1987 and gave a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate (also part of the Berlin Wall). His most famous line from the speech was, "Mr. Gorbachev... tear down this wall." Two years later the wall was down and Germany was reunited.

Here is the Ronald Regan exhibit...



Even though Germany has had a turbulent history, it has also had many great and significant achievements. Germany is now the world's third largest economy and largest exporter of goods (2007). It is one of the leading countries to contribute developmental aid abroad and also possess one of Europe's leading military forces. While the German people are saddened by the grim events of the 20th century, they have entered the 21st century with hope and a positive outlook for the future.

...I'm glad for this because I'm having a great time here.

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