The New German Government
Tuesday June 6, 2006
BERLIN, GERMANY - Today our group really has had a busy tour of the government facilities here in Berlin. Among our trips today was to the Reichstag. Contrary to the sound of the name, it really doesn’t refer to the Third Reich of the Nazis. In fact, the Nazis never held any such parliamentary session in the building, for reasons made obvious by the fact that Hitler was in charge. It’s the home to the German parliament, or Bundestag.
The design of the building is fascinating. You must remember that the new German government has only been located in Berlin for seven years. It moved from Bonn in 1999. As part of the move, the Reichstag underwent a total renovation, and it is a striking makeover. From the outside, the building has a colonial governmental look, not unlike Indiana’s state capitol. But it now features a translucent dome (somewhat replicating the original clear-glass dome that covered the building), and the inside is quite modern. In comparison to the U.S. Congress look of traditional colonial parliamentary procedure, this has the look of the home of the fictional galaxy-wide governing body that existed in a Star Trek movie. It is sleek, with blue seats, and lots of glass.
Such a move in a U.S. statehouse would be unthinkable. Placing a glass dome that looks modern on a classic structure just wouldn’t work. But here, the importance is on the transparency of the system—represented by all the glass—and the start of something new. Remember, a democratic parliament has not ruled in this building since 1933. What’s to preserve from the past?
That said, a couple of interesting notes from the past. There’s a sculpture resembling bricks with names of all the past parliamentary members of Germany, chronicled in order. There’s a black brick in the middle for the time period of 1933 to 1945. That represents the Nazi era. Also, there are other parts of the building left bare, existing in nearly the state they were after the war nearly destroyed the structure. Those walls have Russian graffiti, left by soldiers when they took Berlin in 1945.