Today was a museum day where we could go to museums around Berlin. I chose to go with Frauke, Ali and others on a boat ride through the suburbs of the city. The boat ride was nice, however it was a pretty rainy morning so we spent the majority of the ride on the lower level of the boat. After the boat ride we decided to go to the castle (hunting cabin) where the Potsdam Agreement was signed.
The Potsdam Agreement was signed in 1945 after the end of the Potsdam Conference which took place from July 17 to August 2, 1945. This agreement was drafted and deliberated upon by the three major powers at the time; Soviet Union, Britain and America. The agreement was about how to handle Germany after WWII. They decided that the division of the country into four areas, the disarming of the country, the introduction of a democratic government and the idea to fix the judicial and educational authorities of the Nazi Germany would best suit Germany. The castle where the conference took place, first belonged to the crowned Prince and Princess of Prussia. At the site we toured ten rooms. The tour was directed through audio phones which gave information on each room during the time it was occupied by the Prince and Princess and during the conference.
During the conference there was one room for each of the "Big Three" leaders; Stalin, Roosevelt/Truman and Churchill. Each room was decorated in the taste of the leader. For example, in Churchill's room there was a picture of a dog because he had a love for dogs. The best part of the tour was the room in which the agreement was signed. The chairs, table and flags were set up in the exact order of the day that it was signed. I'm a huge history person and it was the highlight of my trip to be in the same room where this life-changing document was signed. An interesting fact that I found out during the tour was that Stalin was the only leader who was at every meeting within the conference. (There were meetings to deliberate new ideas throughout the months at the castle.) This was shocking, but also understandable as Stalin gained a bit of control during his time alone. This control could have been some motivation that led into the Cold War.
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What an interesting blog, introduced by a thought-provoking photo. The unusual wall painting of the dwellings is also a strangely modern interpretation. Something like this hieroglyphic view of a park by Swiss painter Paul Klee, http://EN.WahooArt.com/A55A04/w.nsf/OPRA/BRUE-8LT475.
The image can be seen at wahooart.com who can supply you with a canvas print of it.
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