Germany Faces Its Future
Regular sessions by the German parliament, the Bundestag, began at the refurbished Reichstag building this week, marking the return of the German government to its historical capital, Berlin.
By moving its center of power 370 miles east from the postwar capital of Bonn, Germany is confronting past demons head on and poising itself as a key power within the unified Europe of the next century.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, inaugurating his new office in the bustling city last month, marked the start of the "Berlin Republic" –- a signal that six decades after World War II, Germany appears ready to look beyond its past without forgetting it.
In a recent editorial, the Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel conceded that it is Germany's duty never to forget its responsibility for the Holocaust.
Memorials, museums, symbolic anniversaries – not to mention the history books - will see to that. But the editorial underscored the current German mindset that dwelling on a historical legacy can only burden a society ready to turn the page.
"The first generation of the new Berlin Republic… will of course perform its duty to remember (its history)," the paper said. "But it is not particularly interested in it at all."
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| Gerhard Schroeder tries a piece of the cake presented to him by the city of Berlin at the inauguration of his chancellery. |
But Schroeder, 55, was elected by the pacifistic, carefully patriotic younger generation. It is their Germany now.
The vote in parliament to return the government to Berlin was remarkably close. Some of those opposed to the move argued that the wounds of the brutal past are too fresh; Berlin was the seat of the Nazi war empire and figured significantly in Hitler's postwar plans. The city was also the capital of communist East Germany and the center of imperial Prussia.
The move back brings with it a confrontation with history that comes to bear in a very tangible way; many of the new government buildings cast dark shadows.
The Foreign Ministry is housed in the former Third Reich Bank building; It was later the seat of the East German Politburo. The Labor Ministry is located in the former propaganda ministry and the Finance Ministry has taken over what was previously the Nazi aviation ministry.
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Even Germany's military profile is rising. During the air campaign over Kosovo the German air force, the Luftwaffe, took to the skies for the first time since WWII as a part of NATO.
The reactivated German military prompted misgivings, not the least of which came from within Germany itself. But NATO heartily endorsed the action and welcomed Germany as a necessary and important member.
As the once and future seat of German power, Berlin may again find itself a central hub of Europe and the Schicksal Stadt Deutschland - the City of German Destiny. Indeed, the city’s revival will be at the heart of any German resurgence.
But in a possible indication of what such a resurgence might mean, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said it should be Berlin's goal to work against dictators and totalitarian movements around the world.
Written by Christopher Weber