Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
STOLPERSTEINE
Look at the ground around the entrances to some Hackesche Höfe and you'll see brass-plated
cobblestones known as
Stolpersteine
, or “stumbling-blocks”. These are some of the nine
thousand laid into footpaths around Germany as a memorial to the victims of Nazi
persecution: each carries a name, birth date and their fate. See
W
stolpersteine.com for full
information on the project.
hough thoroughly beautified today, these courtyards preserve a layout that was
common in this district and much of prewar Berlin, where daily life was played out in
a labyrinth of
Hinterhöfe
- courtyards that were hidden from the shops and o
ces on
the main road. Within the
Hinterhöfe
were a warren of workshops - with housing
above and behind - that together produced a microcosm of the city, with rich and
poor, housing and commerce crammed together for better or worse, creating the
squalid turn-of-the-twentieth-century urban culture that was satirized by Heinrich
Zille (see p.67).
Haus Schwarzenberg
Rosenthaler Str. 39 •
W
haus-schwarzenberg.org • S-Hackescher Markt
Haus Schwarzenberg
is the unapologetically grungy sidekick of the gentrified
Hackesche Höfe, just a couple of doors away. It has only been minimally refurbished
and at least part of its allure is provided by its atmospherically crumbling and grafittied
facades around a central courtyard. It harbours a number of low-key cafés, bars, shops
and galleries (street-art lovers will want to visit Neurotitan Gallery), but a trio of small
museums
relating to
Jewish life
are a particular draw.
4
Gedenkstätte Stille Helden
Daily 10am-8pm • Free •
T
030 23 45 79 19,
W
gedenkstaette-stille-helden.de • S-Hackescher Markt
Spreading over a couple of rooms above the hubbub of the Hackescher Markt,
the
Gedenkstätte Stille Helden
(Memorial to the Silent Heroes) is a museum that
remembers Germans who tried to save Jewish lives by risking their own. he
high-tech interactive format uses photographs, documents and oral testimonies to
uncover the faces and stories of those who worked in isolation and lived with a daily
fear of discovery to uphold moral values and undermine Nazi racial decrees. he
heroic successes and even the tragic failures help restore your faith in human nature
in this era. If all this piques your interest, be sure to investigate the overlapping
content of the more studied Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand (see p.98), in
the diplomatic district.
Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt
Daily 10am-8pm • Free •
T
030 28 59 94 07,
W
museum-blindenwerkstatt.de • S-Hackescher Markt
he
Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt
occupies the former rooms of a broom and
brush factory run by one Otto Weidt, whose employees were mostly deaf, blind and
Jewish. Luckily the factory was considered important to the war effort, so for a long
time Weidt was able to protect his workers from deportation to concentration camps.
But in the 1940s, as pressure grew, he resorted to producing false papers, bribing
the Gestapo and providing food and even hiding places to keep them alive, all at
considerable personal risk. One small room, whose doorway was hidden by a cupboard,
was the refuge for a family of four until their secret was discovered and they were
deported and murdered in Auschwitz. he exhibition has relics of the wartime factory -
brushes, photos and letters from the workers - but it is all in German, so if necessary
ask for the free English translation on entry.
