2016-06-28
【Aiden in English】
I remember the exact project of making paper for people in the first grade. It was a complex project, but we had buddies or older kids to help us. The objective was to build teamwork among the younger kids, but for most, it proved frustrating. No one threw a temper tantrum, luckily. With a few grinding teeth and banging of hands, the entire class got through it without having a single crying student. We were proud of our incredible, ugly creation of a person, with its triangular eyes and the misshapen body. It was displayed for weeks, showing the school our impressive accomplishments. And for once, it felt good to be a first grader, to do something rewarding. Then, we were told to crumble the project up. To put it lightly, Germany has a lousy history regarding the best of people's safety. And the fact that the world agrees strongly with this idea makes things much, much worse for the citizens of Germany. Berlin is probably the most affected city by WWII, assuming the town is not the one that has been bombed to the ground. Well, I shouldn't say that since Berlin was nearly bombed to ashes during the Second World War. Most of the city was turned to rubble, and right after the war, the four major powers of the Allies, France, the US, Britain, and the former USSR, broke up Berlin, and the Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961. According to my mom, who has been here several times over the past two decades, the wall had impacted the sides so much that the map might show a political border. It may as well have been said that East and West Berlin were two different countries. Things today are pretty similar to one another. This was the first sign of unifying and rebuilding in the city. Another small sign was the digging up of bombs. At the local Allied Museum, our tour group viewed three bombs. Don't worry. The gunpowder has been removed as you are reading this entry. Two were from the war, but one bomb was dug up after the war in a nearby area. Even today, the bombs from the Nazis have continuously been found around Berlin; whether they were discovered by the detection or blown up, I have no idea. The city's central theme came during the final phase of the tour when we went around Berlin, taking quick photo stops. Most of the city's known landmarks became craters during the Second War. Since the division of the wall in the Cold War, each side needed its necessities. The opera house had two; the east side lacked one after the wall, and vice versa, with many other buildings and public services. But after the wall fell, most of the doubles used the larger or more popular one since the city had become one again. Probably the most significant change of all would be the decimation of the wall. When Mom was here soon after it was torn down in 1989, pieces of the wall were still furnished, and the border between the two old sections was prominent. Now, the Berlin Wall has been completely torn down, and the standing parts are rusted and falling apart. The city has also blended, mixing the two cultures and breaking down the old international barriers set ages ago. The city was recovering from the wounds of WWII, and it takes tremendous courage to be someone who has forgiven the past. Well, the paper people were mostly thrown in the trash after the project, but the topic was not to show how paper needed to be recycled. Although it is a good lesson, the real point was that after the paper was crumpled up, it could be smoothed out, yet the wrinkles could never be set to perfection. The city of Berlin is a paper man, and it has been crumbled up, leaving scars that cannot be taken away. People have begun to smooth it out, taking away what wrinkles can be removed, but there will always be the scars of the past into the future. Berlin is a city of surprises, like Germany: a rich past, a hopeful future, and a delightful present. 【紅霞譯】
我對小學一年級摺疊紙人仍然記憶猶新，當時覺得手工很難，幸虧有師兄學姐及時相助，開設這項課題的目的在於培養師弟學妹們之間團隊合作意識，不過對大多數年幼無知的新生而言，收穫最大的莫過於直面挫折，好在無人亂發脾氣，頂多牙齒磨得咯吱響，拳頭手掌對擊得噼里啪啦，沒有一位同學哭過鼻子，最後總算完成了任務，我們無不為了不起的丑紙人而感到驕傲，它生有三角眼，長得奇形怪狀，在學校展覽數周，全校師生都看到了這件傑作，作為剛踏入校門的孩子，有生以來頭一次獲得認可，心裡還是美滋滋的。 展覽完畢，我們的作品被拆除扔掉。
婉轉一點說德國歷史上在保障人權自由方面可謂劣跡斑斑，因此而殃及日耳曼民族，並把他們推進恐怖的深淵，柏林大概是第二次世界大戰中蒙受蹂躪最厲害的城市，暫且撇開被夷成平地的廢墟不說。呃，我真不該哪壺不開提哪壺，二戰期間柏林差一點就被炸成灰燼，到處滿目瘡痍；二戰結束後，由法國，美國，英國，前蘇聯等四大獲勝國組成的盟軍把柏林一分為二，致使柏林牆於1961年拔地而起，預示着兩大陣營的冷戰正式拉開序幕。過去廿多年，媽媽曾幾度專訪柏林，深切意識到這個被東德人稱之為反法西斯防衛牆的人造工事象徵着德國政治分裂，那時東、西柏林儼若兩個國家。廿六年後的今天，柏林已消除不同上層建築所造成的意識形態差異，這是統一柏林重建家園的首要標誌；其次要清除炸彈，在當地“盟軍博物館”里，導遊帶我們參觀三個炸彈，別擔心，你讀到這裡就會發現所有的彈藥均被掏空，其中兩個炸彈來自二戰，第三個炸彈則是戰後從附近發現的；即使當下，納粹埋在柏林地區的炸彈始終不停地被挖掘出來，我搞不明白它們究竟是被探測器掃到的還是自爆的。
最後我們遊覽了柏林重要景點，趁機抓拍令人難忘的鏡頭。二戰期間，全城多數著名的建築物都付之一炬；隨着冷戰步步深入，柏林牆雙邊各起爐灶，東柏林為填充空缺而修建了自己的歌劇院，結果現在柏林光歌劇院就有兩座，其它樓房和公共設施同樣出現重複性問題。不過柏林牆拆除之後，只有氣派大或者名聲響的建築才被繼續使用，突出表現柏林一體化發展。
柏林牆從有到無也許是最反映時代意義的變化，1989年柏林牆倒塌後不久媽媽便來過這裡，不僅清晰地看到原址上斷垣殘壁，而且對交界線東、西兩地人文風貌自然景觀之間的顯著差異感觸極深。多年來象徵國際敵對政治堡壘的柏林牆如今早已退出歷史舞台，用於撫今追昔的倖存部分內層鋼筋生鏽，外在水泥剝落，取而代之的是民族和諧文化交融的喜人景象，柏林逐漸從二戰中走出創傷的陰影，人們鼓足勇氣原諒過去。
沒錯，紙人在完成使命之後恐怕被扔進垃圾，但這裡不是討論如何回收廢舊物資的地方，手工製作讓我們明白一個道理，扭曲變形的紙張固然可以重新伸展拉平，然而因為使勁加力生成的皺褶永遠無法徹底消除。柏林好比紙人，從戰後廢墟中重生，想必歷史給這座城市留下了道道傷痕令人難以忘卻，過去的事情不堪回首，但柏林人民努力釋然過去，為的是放眼未來。 如同德國一樣柏林以其悠久浩瀚的歷史文化，充滿希望的發展前景以及現階段愜意自由的民生環境，無不給世人帶來驚喜。 【注】宮殿和公園(1991年)、柏林博物館島(1999年)及現代主義建築(2008年)被聯合國教科文組織納入《世界遺產名錄》。
Today in History(歷史上的今天): 2016: Berlin, the Grey City of Germany(德國柏林·灰色之城) 2016: Berlin, the Capital of Many States DEU(德國柏林·諸朝首府) 2016: Warnemünde, Mouth of Warnow DEU(德國瓦爾內明德·溪口港) 2015: Dardanelles Strait, Turkey(土耳其歐亞分界線·陶堡海峽) 2012: Third Grade Drama Camp(三年級戲劇夏令營)  American Way of Life in the Former American Sector of Berlin @ Outpost Theater, Allied Museum
(盟軍博物館前哨劇院·柏林前美國防區美式生活 06-28-2016)
 Berlin Spy Tunnel @ Allied Museum
(盟軍博物館·柏林間諜隧道) 
Berlin Spy Tunnel @ Allied Museum (盟軍博物館·柏林間諜隧道)  Bombs @ Allied Museum (盟軍博物館·炸彈)
The Times of Berlin about Xiaoping Deng @ Allied Museum (盟軍博物館·《柏林時報》有關鄧小平的報道)
 Open-Air @ Allied Museum
(盟軍博物館·露天 06-28-2016)  Hastings TG 503 Transport Plane of Royal Air Force @ Allied Museum
(盟軍博物館·英國皇家空軍快速TG503運輸機) 
East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall @ Allied Museum (盟軍博物館·柏林牆東柏林畫廊 06-28-2016) 
Allied Checkpoint Charlie @ Allied Museum (盟軍博物館·盟軍自由人檢查哨 06-28-2016) 
GRD Watchtower @ Allied Museum (盟軍博物館·東德崗樓)  Sculpture of The Day: The Wall Came Down @ Clayallee
(克萊拉利·雕塑《牆倒塌的那一天》 06-28-2016)  Iron Curtain of the Berlin Wall
(柏林牆·鐵幕 06-28-2016)
 East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall
(柏林牆·東柏林防區展 06-28-2016)  Hotel Restaurant (酒店餐廳 06-28-2016)
 午餐：奶油蘆筍湯、臘腸、烤蔬菜沙拉、蘋果卷配香草醬
Crosslinks(相關博文): Germany(出遊德國)
Europe(歐洲掠影) 7th Grade(初中二年級) |
