We’re hard at work in Leipzig, Germany, shooting a new TV show. My favorite sight in Leipzig is the former headquarters of the communist-era secret police, or Stasi. Like the USSR had the KGB, East Germany had the Stasi. This amazing museum smells like the musty files that it kept on its citizens. The old vinyl floor is yellowed, and the camera lenses actually look like buttons. During the final days of the regime, the apparatchiks shredded as many documents as possible, and then dissolved the shredded paper into big, mucky balls. Here’s a little peek at what happens when a government goes overboard in surveilling its own people.
Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick
A DDR Toy Story
In Leipzig, a city that helped lead East Germany to freedom at the end of the Cold War in 1989, the excellent Contemporary History Museum gives a fascinating insight into the 40-plus years people spent under communism. As we were scouting to decide what we’d include in our new TV show on Saxony (Dresden and Leipzig), my wonderful guide, Gisa Schönfeld, marveled at how her toy box was almost perfectly duplicated in the museum. It’s an example of how in the DDR, people did have things…all of the same things.
Hitler’s Aesthetic of Anti-individualism
When World War II broke out, Hitler was building a massive congress hall to accommodate his top 50,000 Nazis for annual gatherings. The unfinished and empty husk of this building still stands empty, as Germans can’t find an appropriate use for it. The brutal, no-questions-asked, Neoclassical design — like the architecture of any dictator — effectively drives individualism down and makes you feel insignificant…unless you join what they promised would be the winning team.
Nazi Parade Ground and the Stink of German Urine
I’ve left England and have made my way to Germany, where I’m filming new TV shows for our upcoming season. And my first stop is a beautiful town with some sinister connections: Nürnberg.
Hitler had a warm place in his cold heart for Nürnberg. Within sight of the castle of the Holy Roman Emperor, who ruled the First Reich, Hitler held his massive rallies to pump up the Third Reich. It’s amazing how much actually survives of the place where he threw mammoth propaganda spectacles to build community.
As we filmed this, we wondered if the word “community” was too positive — but Nazism was community, in both the inclusive sense and in the exclusive sense. With a classic fascist stance, Hitler made it clear: Either you were with him, or you were against him. Today, the rust and the stink of urine at his former tribune is a reminder of what present-day Germans think of this place.
Cheerio to England, Guten Tag to Deutschland
Thanks for traveling with me so far on my trip. I’m coming down the home stretch in my 2015 travels, with one final leg. I’m saying cheerio to England and flying to Germany, where I’ll meet my crew and film three new TV shows. With producer Simon and cameraman Peter, we’ll be visiting Frankfurt, Würzburg, Nürnberg, Dresden, Leipzig, and Hamburg — the great cities of Germany that travelers so often overlook. If you’ve got a trip to Germany percolating in your travel dreams, be sure to travel along.
