History

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Eyewitness History Talk: The Second World War and its aftermath

17. Mai 2013 in Berlin, Circus Hotel, Circus Talks, Events, Fabisch, History by Paul

Bild 183-R66897

On Tuesday 21st May 2013 we are extremely pleased to be welcoming to The Circus another eyewitness speaker from the Zeitzeugenbörse (Centre for Witness to Contemporary History). This is part of our monthly series events that we have been running for the past two years, in which we invite speakers to come and join us for a while and tell us their own personal stories about different moments in Berlin and German history.

This month we are delighted to welcome Dr Golkowsky who will be coming to talk to us about the Second World War and its aftermath. Dr Golkowsky was born in 1934 in Silesia, and will share stories of his experience during the war, the flight to the west, and observations on life for himself, friends and family, on both sides of the iron curtain.

We are really looking forward to another fascinating evening of personal history in Fabisch, and we hope you will join us. The talk will be in English, is open to all, and is free… although we will be collecting contributions towards our own donation to the ZZB to help them continue in their important work.

Where: Fabisch at The Circus Hotel, Rosenthaler Straße 1 (U8: Rosenthaler Platz)
When: Tue 21st May at 6.45pm

(Photo: Bundesarchiv on Wikimedia Commons)

Tour to the Otto Weidt Museum

26. April 2013 in Berlin, Circus News, History, History Tours, Our Neighbourhood by Paul

 

otto weidt

This coming Tuesday (30th April) we have a tour once more to the Otto Weidt Museum, just down the street from the Circus. It is one of the most fascinating free tours that we offer, thanks to the commitment and knowledge of the museum guides who show us around… they really are excellent, and the story they have to tell has to be heard to be believed.

In 1936 Otto Weidt established his workshop, which he moved in 1940 to the back courtyard of Rosenthaler Straße 39 to manufacture brooms and brushes. Because one of his main customers was the German Army, Weidt managed to have his business classified as vital to the war effort. About thirty blind and deaf Jews were employed at his shop between the years of 1941 and 1943. When the Gestapo began to arrest and deport his Jewish employees, Weidt fought to secure their safety by falsifying documents, bribing officers, and even hiding them inside the factory itself.

Here’s what Andrew, our Entertainment Manager has to say about his experience of leading the tour down to the Otto Weidt museum:

“During the tour through the museum you discover stories of real people that are almost unbelievable – from the desperation of living a hidden and underground life in Berlin to amazing stories of survival – and it is thanks to the guides at the Otto Weidt that this history comes to life in such a vivid and incredible way. After the tour of the museum they then take us through the heart of the old Jewish quarter of Berlin, including the memorial that marks the collection spot for the Jewish population before their deportation to the camps.”

The tour is of course free to guests of The Circus, but places are limited, so please make sure you sign up at reception to guarantee your place.

Eyewitness History Talk – The Legacy of a Divided Country

19. April 2013 in Berlin, Circus Hotel, Circus News, Circus Talks, Events, Fabisch, History by Paul

B 145 Bild-F079010-0037

On Tuesday 23rd April 2013 we are extremely pleased to be welcoming to The Circus another eyewitness speaker from the Zeitzeugenbörse (Centre for Witness to Contemporary History). This is part of our monthly series events that we have been running for the past two years, in which we invite speakers to come and join us for a while and tell us their own personal stories about different moments in Berlin and German history.

This month we are delighted to welcome Sieglinde Neff who will be coming to talk to us about her life in Berlin, first in the German Democratic Republic and then, having left illegally during the 1950s, in West Germany. She will share her experiences, including life for young people in East Germany, and the legacy of the division 24 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

We are really looking forward to another fascinating evening of personal history in Fabisch, and we hope you will join us. The talk will be in English, is open to all, and is free… although we will be collecting contributions towards our own donation to the ZZB to help them continue in their important work.

Where: Fabisch at The Circus Hotel, Rosenthaler Straße 1 (U8: Rosenthaler Platz)
When: Tue 23rd April at 6.45pm

(Photo credit: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F079010-0037 / CC-BY-SA)

Café Conversations at The Circus Hostel

15. April 2013 in Berlin, Circus Hostel, Circus News, Circus Talks, History by Paul

Cafe Conversations

Tomorrow evening sees the start of a new series of events at The Circus Hostel, that is tied into our current monthly programme of Circus Talks that takes place across the road at The Circus Hotel. In a couple of weeks we will be welcoming the next of our “Eyewitnesses” to Fabisch (keep an eye out here on the blog for details) but our new event brings one of Brewer’s Berlin Tours expert guides to the café to talk about a particular period in the city’s history. Tomorrow the topic of the talk is The Rise of the Third Reich, and it promises to be an informative and interesting evening.

As always at The Circus the event is free, and guests can also join us an hour earlier for free dinner as part of our daily “Dinner Time”.

Circus Talks – Café Conversations
in association with Brewer’s Berlin Tours
at The Circus Hostel, Weinbergsweg 1a (UBhf Rosenthaler Platz)
16th April 2013 at 8pm

Eyewitness History Talk – Life in Divided Berlin

15. März 2013 in Berlin, Circus Hotel, Circus Talks, Fabisch, History by Paul

Bundesarchiv_Bild_173-1282,_Berlin,_Brandenburger_Tor,_Wasserwerfer

On Tuesday 19th March 2013 we are extremely pleased to be welcoming to The Circus another eyewitness speaker from the Zeitzeugenbörse (Centre for Witness to Contemporary History). This is part of our monthly series events that we have been running for the past two years, in which we invite speakers to come and join us for a while and tell us their own personal stories about different moments in Berlin and German history.

This month we are delighted to welcome Markus Eglin who will be coming to talk to us about his life in Berlin during the period of division in the city, from 1961 to 1989, when Berlin was cut in two by the Berlin Wall. Mr Eglin will talk to us about working for the US Airforce as a “local national”, life in the city during the division, and the events of 1989 and the reunification of Berlin and Germany, during which he met his wife.

circus-talks-buttonWe are really looking forward to another fascinating evening of personal history in Fabisch, and we hope you will join us. The talk will be in English, is open to all, and is free… although we will be collecting contributions towards our own donation to the ZZB to help them continue in their important work.

Where: Fabisch at The Circus Hotel, Rosenthaler Straße 1 (U8: Rosenthaler Platz)
When: Tue 19th March at 6.45pm

(Photo credit: Wolf, Helmut J., part of the Bundesarchiv, Wikimedia Commons)

A Perfect Day with… Paul

1. März 2013 in Berlin, History, Perfect Day, Staff picks, Stuff We Like by Paul

Grunewald

(above: the trees in the Grunewald forest)

Once again it is Friday, and for all you travellers to the city – and maybe the odd Berliner as well – who is looking for inspiration for what to do over the weekend, check out the next instalment of our “Perfect Days”, this time by Paul Scraton, who is in charge of Communications at the Circus. Green spaces, some history, and literary ghosts are what makes for his great day in the city…

UP IN TIME FOR BREAKFAST

I would start the day down by the river, at Zimt & Zucker not far from the Friedrichstraße station and the Berlin Ensemble theatre. I love the design of the place – think 1920s living room – and they serve pancakes with bacon and syrup; the perfect start to a day exploring the city.

GOOD MORNING BERLIN…

If the weather is fine, I would recommend to everyone to head out from the centre and explore the lakes and forests of Berlin, whether at Wannsee or Müggelsee down in the south, Grunewald in the west or Tegel in the north. The alternative, if the weather is bad, would be to spend the morning exploring the excellent German History Museum on Unter den Linden. It was history that brought me to Berlin in the first place, and the exhibitions of the many and various moments in German history is wonderfully done.

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Free tour to the Topography of Terror

25. Februar 2013 in Circus News, History, History Tours, Museum by Paul

topography

(Image: Stefan Müller / Stiftung Topographie des Terrors)

This week’s History Tour is being run by Andrew, who will be taking guests to the sobering Topography of Terror exhibition in Berlin-Mitte:

The Topography of Terror is the permanent exhibition of the Gestapo, SS and Reich Security main office on Wilhelm- and Prinz-Albrecht-Straße, in the heart of Berlin-Mitte. Tomorrow morning there will be a special free tour for Circus guests to the Topography of Terror, where a guide from the foundation will lead us through the five main sections of the exhibition: the Nationalist takeover of power, the Institutions of Terror (SS and Police), Terror, Persecution and Extermination on Reich Territory, SS and Reich Security Office in the Occupied Countries, and the End of the War and the Postwar Era.

The Topography of Terror has long won awards for its sensitive handling of this period of history, and developments over the past couple of years have cemented its place as one of Berlin’s most interesting and, indeed, world class exhibitions. The tour leaves from reception, and although it is free, you will need a public transport ticket. Circus guests who are interested in joining the tour should sign up at reception, as places are limited.

Free Tour to the Jewish Museum

18. Februar 2013 in Berlin, History, Jim's Berlin, Stuff We Like by Paul

Jewish Museum

(above: © Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Foto: Jens Ziehe)

As part of our weekly programme of history tours to different places in and around Berlin, we are heading off this Tuesday morning to the Jewish Museum where we will meet a guide from the museum who will take us around the exhibition “The Jewish Response to National Socialism”. The exhibition will cover the limited ways in which Jews could actively respond to persecution and the desperate struggle to continue their everyday lives. Personal documents give evidence to the attempts of Jews to survive, to engage in resistance and to maintain their dignity. The way Jews wrestled with the question of when or where to emigrate provide typical examples of the existential challenges faced by this segregated and persecuted minority.

Here is what the museum has to say about the exhibition:

“Soon after their assumption of power in 1933, the National Socialists initiated anti-Jewish measures that seriously endangered the social and economic existence of German Jews. They increasingly stigmatized and excluded Jews with the intention of having them expelled. By 1941 their aim was the physical extermination of the Jews. The tour elucidates the limited ways in which Jews could actively respond to persecution and the desperate struggle to continue their everyday lives. Personal documents give evidence to the attempts of Jews to survive, to engage in resistance and to maintain their dignity. The way Jews wrestled with the question of when or where to emigrate provide typical examples of the existential challenges faced by this segregated and persecuted minority.”

There will also be an introduction to the building and the museum. The tour is free for guests of the Circus (although you will need a public transport ticket) but places are limited and you are asked to kindly speak to the reception or your concierge to let us know if you want to come.

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