BERLIN

Last weekend a new exhibit opened in Berlin, Germany called “Mythos Germania.” The detailed model shows the big plans that Hitler had for Berlin to make it the capital city of the world. He started his planning in 1925 before coming to power. The achievement of the plan was thwarted by World War II.

Nevertheless, he forced evacuation of 80,000 people from an area that would have drastically changed the historic center of the city. A massive triumphal arch, almost 50 times the size of Paris's Arc de Triomphe, was to tower over a boulevard decorated with the weapons of vanquished enemies. In place of the Reichstag was to be built the Great Hall with room for 180,000 people.

These gigantic buildings were to epitomize the philosophy, “the individual is small, alone he is meaningless, the state is everything.”

One visitor to the exhibit last weekend said, “You always think of bad things when you think of the Nazis-era, and it was all very terrible, but when you look at what they wanted to build, it is somehow impressive - and then you can understand somewhat how people got carried along by the ministries and everything."

Ouch! Can such thinking still happen today in the political or religious world?

Years ago I had the opportunity to be in West Berlin for a few weeks on a business trip. Well do I remember so many experiences from that trip 35 years ago before the Berlin Wall was torn down.

Admittedly, I did not really understand the political and geographical isolation of Berlin until the trip. After World War II Berlin was divided into four sections. The Western Allies (USA, United Kingdom, and France) controlled West Berlin and the Soviet Union, East Berlin. All of Berlin was located in East Germany which was controlled by the Soviets.

I had an immediate sense of history when I flew into Tempelhof Airport. What came to be known as the Berlin Airlift began in June of 1948. For eleven months, the Soviets blockaded all supplies into Berlin by land or water. The Western Allies flew in basic necessities to the airport for the 2 ½ million inhabitants of West Berlin to survive.

During my time in Berlin I struggled to use the German I had studied for six semesters in college. About the best I could do, though, was to be able to order the delicious wiener schnitzel on restaurant menus.

It was a treat, literally, to ride the subway around and under West Berlin. I never did figure out how you were supposed to pay! More often I used the bus system. One day after getting off a bus I realized I had lost my passport. I studied the map where the bus line ended and found an office there. Thankfully, my passport had been turned in and I was able to retrieve it.

I went to the Olympic Stadium that Hitler had built for the 1936 Olympics. The place seemed to be completely empty of people the day I visited. I knew the story of how Hitler wanted to use the Olympics as a stage to promote Aryan racial supremacy.

Jesse Owens, the African-American on the USA team, shot down that boast when he won four gold medals. I ran a lap on the track alone in the empty stadium trying to imagine the thrill of that day for Owens and the shock for Hitler. Other days for exercise I ran through some parks near the hotel where I stayed.

I saw the beautiful Charlottenburg Castle, fine art museums, the Reichstag parliament building, and Brandenburg Gate. I stood in the plaza of the City Hall where President John Kennedy gave his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech to encourage the people after the Berlin Wall was built.

I walked through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin for an afternoon. It was eerie walking along streets with few cars. Fearing any encounter with any official, I was very careful not even to jaywalk! Crossing back into West Berlin, I went to a museum that displayed ingenious ways people had escaped from the East. It was a sobering sight to see scores of white crosses placed along the Wall, signifying spots where people had been killed trying to flee East Berlin.

The most meaningful experience of the trip for me occurred late one night at the beginning of my stay in West Berlin. I was having trouble sleeping due to the time change. I rode a bus to the center of town and found myself at the historic Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Still standing are the ruins of the old building bombed during WWII. Though there is a new church building, the remnants of the old are left as a reminder of the horrors of war.

As I stood alone in the ruins a young man entered. He spoke German and a little English, and I spoke a little German. As we talked I learned he was a student from Austria who was in town with his high school group. When he asked why I was in Berlin I explained I was on a business trip, but that my life mission was more than to earn money. More importantly, I explained I was an ambassador of Jesus Christ.

I had prepared for such a conversation before my trip. I had sown onto my jacket a small circular patch that was divided into sections like a pie. Each section had a different color – blue, black, red, white, green, and gold. With the patch I was able to explain God’s plan of salvation. I asked the young man if he would like to invite Christ into his life to be his Lord and Savior. We bowed in prayer together and he received Christ.

Upon my return home to the States I wrote him a letter, but I never heard back from him. I hope we will have the opportunity to meet again some day --- on earth or in heaven!

One postscript about the Berlin Wall …

Last month I heard an impassioned sermon about immigration by Ellis Orozco, a second generation Mexican-American. He remarked how President Ronald Reagan came to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. In his address Reagan included a reference to the Soviet General Secretary when he said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!” Orozco noted how ironic that now the United States is building a wall on our border!