The last stop of the day is the Topography of Terror exhibit. We do not know a lot about it before we arrive here and we pass by it only because it is the fastest route to the hotel but we are happy that we stopped by and entered the exhibit area. It has two sections, the open air Berlin Wall with exhibits and the modern covered exhibit building and we decide to visit both of them as they are still open even so late in the day.
To recuperate a bit and rest we enter the building first and we learn that this was the site of the Gestapo building, the famous secret police in Germany. As such many exhibits both inside and outside show how the focus of the Gestapo changed across the years and how the people were intimidated or cooperated willingly throughout the years.
It shows how the main focus of Gestapo soon become the Jews and everyone that didn’t adhere to strict Nazi principles. Including people who fraternized with Slavic people and Jews, some of them being publicly ostracized like in the Middle Ages. In fact this was illegal, intimate or private contact between ethnic Germans and classified “racial inferior” people was made illegal by Nazi racial laws and the women were sent to prison and then many were sent to concentration camps.
The exhibit also shows how the power of Gestapo expanded as more countries were conquered and how these countries cooperated mostly to kill or exile Jews.
Outside we explore a bit the Berlin wall and the exhibits but we are quite tired and it seems to start to rain so we decide to make a beeline for the hotel.
On the way we pass a few more beautiful buildings including one that is still open and has a fun exhibit but we are tired and still have to buy food for the evening so we pass and continue on. We buy some souvenirs and some food on the way and then it is time to go to sleep as tomorrow we have another full day of exploring Berlin.
