Trains to Death, and Trains to Life

After meeting Hanoch, I went to the Friedrichstrasse station, to take pictures of the monument 'Trains to Life, Trains to Death'. The sculpture depicts two groups of children, those who were saved by means of the Kindertransport, and those who were sent to their death in the East. The Kindertransport is a historical subject that I often teach in my classes (between 9 November, Reichspogromnacht, and 10 December, International Human Rights Day). Through the story of Jewish children who were forced to flee 90 years ago, my students come to understand that refugees today face very similar dilemmas and problems. The contrast between the role of the trains in the Kindertransport and in the deportations to the camps in this statue is very powerful. By chance, when I was there, there was a large and loud anti-Israel demonstration, which can be seen in the distance in the first picture. Because the sun was blinding me, I returned later that evening to take pictures of the 'Trains of Death' side of the sculpture.

Between my two visits to the Friedrichstrasse, I went to the Mahnmal Levetzowstrasse. This is a moving and powerful memorial for the Jews who were deported from the Moabit quarter. The monument is very much a local initiative, aimed at honoring the memory of the Jewish residents of the neighborhood. A website, Sie waren Nachbarn (they were neighbors; the website is only in German), has lots of information, about the victims, where they lived etc. Part of the monument, like the Platform 17, gives us the numbers and dates of the 63 transports that left Berlin, the number of victims in each transport, and its destination.