Dr. Tour Guide Wasser

There were SO many small things about WWII that I had never thought about, that were shown at the Haus der Geschichte. I've never been one to enjoy learning about wars in school, so there are a few things I feel should not have been new, but a few of the exhibits presented entirely new ideas to me.
    I, for one, had never realized just how much propaganda and political advertisement the country had been subjected to in the during- and post- World War II timespan. I don't think that a square inch of the walls at the Haus was devoid of posters--propaganda, campaign posters, and politically-minded artwork all included.

   In the early stages (before outright war) I had never realized that original goal was simply to relocate the Jewish population. This was, in part, orchestrated by the aforementioned propaganda; however, the populus didn't seem to need all that much prompting to kick out one of the world's all-time most persecuted religious groups. It was only after this first relocation attempt that they were actually taken to camps, not that this idea of moving the Jewish population "out of sight" was a good idea, at all.
    Finally, I didn't realize how much separation there really was--both culturally and ideologically--between East and West Germany after reunification. As one who has lived his whole life after "the impossible" happened and the Berlin wall came down, it has never seemed more than a tourist destination. It never really struck me as this truly impassable barrier that embodied the conflicting views of different governments, or a thing that gave so many people hope when it was torn down.
    Thanks, Dr. Wasser for the tour!