28 August 2012

About A Cold War Museum am Checkpoint Charlie


On the Deutsche Welle website an article titled “East-Westdivide remains at Checkpoint Charlie” (08.08.12) by Melanie Sevcenko. The article dealt with the attempt to create a new museum near the area that was Checkpoint Charlie at the intersection of Friedrichstrasse and Zimmerstrasse in Berlin. The new museum would be called the Cold War Museum.

The interesting thing about the museum is that it would reflect the Cold War from both sides of the Berlin Wall. It seems that there is not enough to address that the game that was played for over 40 years since the end of World War II by the two sides.  This is an interesting concept that I for one would like to see become a reality. As a US Soldier during the Cold War, I would like to know what my counterparts were doing because from what we were told they certainly knew what we were doing. However, very little info ever made it back to the line troops on the day-to-day life of a Soviet or East German or Warsaw Pact soldier. I am more than certain someone knew. So it would be interesting to see what they had to deal with and how they dealt with it.
 
So from a selfish point of view a Cold War Museum is a great idea. Then again, what about those that were oppressed by the Soviets and their puppet regimes? Do they want to be reminded of those dark days when neighbors spied on neighbors or worse still when family member spied on family member?  Is that a memory that anyone wants to relive? It remains a very harsh reality for many, I know of one individual, personally, that is still haunted by the actions of the former DDR.

I hope that this dilemma does not become the start of another Cold War. Then again, wars have started over lesser things than this. It will be interesting to see how it all plays itself out. 

18 August 2012

A City of Broken Glass / BerlinBrigade.com Book of the Month

The BerlinBrigade.com Book of the Month for August/September 2012

A CITY OF BROKEN GLASS
                                             by Rebecca Cantrell

Rebecca Cantrell has done it again. This time she delivers her fourth book in the Hannah Vogel series: "A City Of Broken Glass"

In this book, we find ourselves traveling with Hannah Vogel to Poland just as things start getting very interesting, not just for Poland and Germany but for all of Europe, as rumblings of the start of the Second World War are starting to see the light of day. As a reporter, Hannah is traveling to Poland to cover a festival, the Feast of St. Martin, when she is made aware that thousands upon thousands of Polish Jews are being deported out of Germany. Now here is where things start to get interesting, because if you have read any of the Hannah Vogel books, you know that Hannah cannot help herself and has to dive into the deep end head first. If this is your first Rebecca Cantrell work, then let me the first to introduce you to Hannah Vogel. Hold on tightly because with "A City of Broken Glass" you are in for one heck of a ride.

"A City of Broken Glass" is loaded with action, intrigue, a very real dose of human characters and humanity, all of which is set in a world that is quickly spinning out of control and into the inevitable bloodshed that was World War II. Before I get any further, I will leave it here but I know Rebecca Cantrell won't leave it here, there is still plenty more to come from Cantrell and Hannah Vogel. So be on the look out for future adventures with Hannah. If this is your first venture into the Hannah Vogel series be sure to check out the previous books in the series: "A Trace of Smoke", "A Night of Long Knives" and "A Game of Lies"

If you are looking for a Late Summer or Early Fall read then Rebecca Cantrell's latest installment is for you. "A City of Broken Glass" will keep you turning page after page. If you are looking for a good mystery, high speed thriller, something that will not only keep you interested but have you rooting for Hannah Vogel, all the way to the end, then "A City of Broken Glass" is for you.

If you haven't already, you can own your copy of "A City of Broken Glass" by purchasing it online from Amazon.com (see below) or stop by your local bookstore.



Enjoy!

Visit the Rebecca Cantrell website: http://www.rebeccacantrell.com

The Hannah Vogel series by Rebecca Cantrell

 

13 August 2012

August 13, 1961

August 13, 1961...
Almost overnight in Berlin, the city is cut-off as construction begins on what is to become known as the Berlin Wall.



Today, 51 years later, we do not celebrate the construction but remember that day and all the 10,315 days until the wall fell on November 9, 1989.

We remember those that lived with the wall as a sore that snaked through the wonderful city of Berlin, those that died trying to get to Freedom, those that were unable to even contemplate escape, and especially those that Defended the Freedom of the city of West Berlin.

(photo of Berlin Wall taken Fall 1986 between Brandenburg Gate & Reichstag)

02 August 2012

Airplane or Thunder (or Military Training) In Berlin / Flugzeug oder Thunder (oder militärische Ausbildung) in Berlin

Last week, I read a blog post titled "Flugzeug oder Donner" (Airplane or Thunder) on the HIN UND WEG blog found on the Berliner Morgenpost, a FANTASTIC Berlin newspaper, website about how the citizens of Berlin, particularly those that live close to TEGEL AIRPORT and the noise aftermath of a recent rainstorm that grounded flights out of Tegel. It seems that the citizens were not taking to kindly to the fact that once the weather cleared the aircraft took for their respective final destinations after the 11:15 pm "quiet" time cut-off.

The "Quiet" time is something that I never really thought about until I read about it. I can remember training at Doughboy City (US MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) Training Area) & Ruhleben in the British Sector. There was plenty of High Speed Training conducted in those mock villages with their buildings and S-Bahn stations, rail lines, sewer systems, warehouses, and the Rathaus (town hall), every assault and defense was different, no two were ever the same. REALLY!!!

However, there was one thing that was the same when it got dark and late at night, we shut down operations (OK, OK we scaled them "way" back). It seems that the our civilian neighbors wanted a good night's sleep and with our night attacks and artillery simulators and flash bangs and the ever present hooting and hollering of US Army Infantrymen, a good night's sleep was not a certainty. So we had to keep it down.

I had never experienced such a unique set-up when it came to training in the field. Of course, excusing the fact that the training was conducted in a city that housed a couple million people it was unique nonetheless. A couple of million people are more apt to make some kind of noise especially during the "quiet" time but that wasn't our concern, we were out there training and had to do it when we could.

Then again, no one could forget that just outside the city limits (aka the Berlin Wall) there were several Soviet military divisions that also had to conduct their training and sometimes they would back their howitzers right up against the wall and fire their rounds well into the night. I wonder how our Soviet counterparts put up with the complaints from the locals regarding the violation of the Ruhezeiten?

Don't get me wrong, we tried our best to follow the rules but the occasional Artillery Simulator would certainly do its best to rattle a few windows. Then again, there were those welcomed evenings around the fire barrel where the bond among the Infantrymen was solidified and made stronger. 


I would like to hear your take on "Quiet Time"

Thanks
Dave Guerra
A Co. 6th Bn 502nd Inf
US Army Berlin Brigade
1985 - 1987