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ByLeonardStohler Ofparticularinterest to me was the Pergamom Museum because of my educational background. Since university days I have attempted to gather more knowledge of Eu- rope, Greece and Rome, Turkey, the Levant, Pales- tine, Mesopotamia, Islam and Christianity. When I visit a museum like Perga- mom and watch programs on NOVA that relate what scientists have discovered, some of that study comes together. The Germans began to collect remains of civiliza- tions early on and by 1698 had the first collection of Roman antiquity. On the museum island is the fa- mous Pergamon (some- times Pergamum) Mu- seum, visited by over a million visitors every year. The familiar front en- trance was not accessible as it was undergoing ren- ovation. It contains dis- plays from several famous ancient cities including Babylon, Uruk, Assur, Mi- letus, Priene and Egypt. I was at the end of my max- imum 2.5 hours of mu- seum visitation so I did not go into the Egypt mu- seum even though I had bought a ticket. Pergamon was a Greek city in pres- ent day Turkey, but the fa- mous Ishtar Gate is from ancient Babylon. The museum has the actual Ishtar Gate of Bab- ylon (the eighth one), moved and reconstructed in the museum. When the Israelites were taken cap- tive by the Babylonian emperor, Nebuchadnez- zar II, they went through this gate. It is famous for the huge beautiful lions that line its walls and was once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Bab- ylonians fell to Cyrus the Great (559-530 BCE), of the Persian Empire, who released these people to go back to Jerusalem who then built the temple there that was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. The foundation 'walls' of that temple are often in the news today. The NOVA program, based on a comparison of the similarity of sto- ries in the Hebrew scrip- tures and archeology, stated that those people returned to Palestine as Jews, with a whole new interpretation of their an- cient beliefs and a new language, Hebrew. From my study, I think this is a correct conclusion. I con- clude that the Jews ar- rived in Jerusalem not worshipping the Goddess of Ishtar but believed in Yahweh, the one god of the world. This was the background for the emer- gence of Christianity five centuries later and an im- portant part in the rise of Islam seven centuries af- ter that. I have to make one other remark. I use to criticize the Europeans, British, French, Ameri- cans and others for 'loot- ing' these sites. I think that in the world of to- day's Middle East it was a fortunate thing as many objects were destroyed as a result of our war in Iraq. ISIS has destroyed several cultural monu- ments in Iraq such as the Assyrian city of Nim- rud, the Assyrian capi- tal of Khorsabad, the Mo- sul Museum and Library, Jonah's Tomb, Hatra, Pal- myra, the wall of Nineveh and many sites in Syria. The Germans pro- tected this museum's ob- jects when the bombs fell destroying the museum complex in World War II. The Soviets took many back to Russia but have returned some of them. According to the Ger- mans, the German arche- ologist was told to come get the gate; it was a gift of the sultan. Yet, in 2002 the Iraqi government pe- titioned to get some of the excavation back. It is not going to happen any- time in the near future! I am indeed thankful that I could walk through that historic gate and that it had not been destroyed! Now for some sights modern. As I have stated before, glass is used ev- erywhere in the modern buildings. I have submit- ted two photos that repre- sent this architecture. The first one was the favor- ite of Barnaby, our tour guide. I certainly liked it, but I would have chosen the beautiful building on the Spree River with its marvelous reflections and location. It would be mar- velous to work in a build- ing with an open view like that! I prefer the stories and events from his- tory that show the good traits of humans. During the Protestant Reforma- tion so much bloodshed was shed as the nobles in Germany took sides, ei- ther those who favored Martin Luther or the Ro- man Church. I have to tell one story of past gener- osity that occurred dur- ing this time of much ha- tred. It has to do with two churches on the Gendar- menmarkt Square, Ber- lin's most magnificent square. In 1700, King Fredrick I had a plan for a new quarter, Friedrichstadt, in Berlin. The French Prot- estants or Huguenots had been expelled following the Edit of Potsdam in 1685 and had settled here and were granted asy- lum in the Prussian capi- tal. The Prussians built a German cathedral for the Huguenots here. Later, the Huguenots built a ca- thedral for the Prussians along the square. Also found here is Schinkel' Konzerthaus or concert hall. In 1785 domes were added to the two cathe- drals which makes it the center of beautiful domed architecture. These build- ings had been fully re- stored by 1994, 1996. It is the location of one of Ber- lin's most popular Christ- mas markets. It will not be long be- fore a minority of people in Europe will state they are Christian. It is already a fact in Germany. Few at- tend any church or cathe- dral. However, they do at- tend and promote the Christmas festivals in the towns and cities, but that is largely buying and giv- ing of beautiful gifts that may or may not relate to Christmas at all. They re- late to a board cultural identity that may or may not have to do with Chris- tianity. The following are some of my thoughts about Chancellor Angela Merkel's inviting into Germany what will be over a million refugees and immigrants from Syria, Jordan, and many other places. In the case of the Syrian refugees, they are a people who have lost their homeland. She is not primar- ily concerned about the religion of these refu- gees. Germany had ex- perienced a time when its population experi- enced the dehumanized status of refugees dur- ing and after World War II. Germany's women were raped and its coun- try pillaged by the Soviet armies and to a lesser extent by other armies, the Czech partisans and other partisans. Germans who lived in central Eu- rope were killed be- cause they were German. That is very understand- able! Some people today may say they deserved it because so many sup- ported the Nazis. Never- theless, the helpless suf- fered greatly. Germany knows what it is to suf- fer. Therefore, I think they are far more willing to accept the nationless people who come to their land. I would add that they are far more able to help than other countries of Europe. I will end my litany of places I have visited by relating my visit to 'The Memorial to the Mur- dered Jews of Europe'. This memorial was de- signed by the American architect Peter Eisenman and Buro Happold, an engineer. It is a maze of concrete grayish blocks of varied heights. As one walks into the maze you go to different lev- els and the experience be- comes different as you look down the column of blocks. You are never lost like in a maze; you can always see your way out and the sky. It is only a memorial to the mur- dered Jews and not to the other millions killed by the Nazis. There is much criticism for that. In cre- ating the covering that prevents spray paint from sticking to the concrete blocks, it was discov- ered that part of its in- gredients was the same as an ingredient used in the gas used in the ex- termination camps. Our guide invited us to walk through this memorial and to relate what we felt when we met on the other side. I related how the color had affected me and that is when he re- lated the reason for the color. He told the group the color of the blocks is the same color of the ashes produced from the gas chambers during the Holocaust. If I were ever to go back to Berlin and the other cities for that matter, I would once again take the best half day tour I could find. There certainly are many to choose from. The one thing I would do is to ask the guide at each site to point out what could be seen in the building, whether museum or not. I think it is important to visit the most important of these. I missed so many in each city because I didn't have a week there. I took the underground to the Tegel Airport on my way to Frankfurt via Lufthansa. It thought two signs at the terminal were certainly true of Berlin: The place to be for busi- ness. The place to be for start-ups. This first leg was great, but when I got to Frankfurt, I discov- ered that my United Air- lines flight was cancelled. A reason was not given. It took hours for United to tell us what our sta- tus would be. All stand- ing in line became the San Francisco group. United offered three meal vouchers and one night at the Steigenberger Ho- tel. United clerks finally made reservations for us on a United Airlines flight the next morning. Due to its number I suspected it was a bogus flight and sure enough when we got to the airport we were scheduled on Lufthansa on a later flight to Chi- cago O'Hare and then to San Francisco. United did help us go through secu- rity and passport check quickly in Chicago which was no mean feat. As soon as the San Francisco group from Frankfurt was on board, we departed. We arrived in San Fran- cisco about 28 hours late. In Frankfurt, we were no- tified that the European Union had monetary pen- alties for cancelled flights not due to weather, etc. I am still waiting for my re- imbursement and have not heard anything from United. I was glad I was only late on this flight. As a result of staying at the hotel in Frankfurt that had a superb, historic, beautiful, unique restau- rant, the Unterschwein- stiege, nearby, I did have the best meal in Europe as I combined two meal vouchers. Finally, I had a real German feast of many German foods. Aboutthecontributor: Leonard (Len) Stohler is a historian by degree. He taught in the local schools from 1969-1995. He served on the Red Bluff Union School Board for 16 years. On a Danube River cruise late October last year he had to return due to the illness of his traveling companion after seeing only Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna for one day each. He wanted to return "closer to the ground" and so returned on an independent trip to the cities of Budapest, Vienna, Prague and Berlin from September 7-22. He walked in these cities and rode public transportation, enjoying some of the many attractions and historic sites and talking to a few of the citizens. TRAVELOGUE Berlin part II continued: Dynamic, rebuilt, youthful PHOTOSBYBYLEONARDSTOHLER Le : Ishtar lion. Right top: Barnaby's favorite building . Right bottom: Memorial to the victims of the Holocaust | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2015 6 A