It is a sunny May-Saturday. Ordinary humans stroll through the Biesenhorster sand hills or take a sunbath on the Biesdorf quarry pond nearby. But I'm going on a trip to the German-Russian Museum.
An old Wolga stops right in front of it, I'm thrilled. Thomas [name changed] gets out, I ask if I can take a picture of his car. Sure, no problem. We go to the site together. Unfortunately, the museum is closed due to Corona. There, in this building, the capitulation was signed on May 9, 1945. So a world war came to the end here. It seems so unreal now and here, in Karlshorst, in the middle of the single-family houses and on this peaceful, sunny spring day.
Thomas tells me that he comes here more often. Before Corona there were special exhibitions and events that were worth seeing. And sometimes it was not easy to face your own history. But it's good that the museum exists, I notice, that it reminds us of the horrors and suffering of the war and admonishes us.
We stroll through the museum garden full of carefully designed memorial plaques with information, pictures and documents. In Russian and German. The photos show the shattered Berlin and we can hardly believe that it was only 75 years ago.
Then we get to the rear of the site where old military equipment is lined up. A big, well-kept collection awaits us - from the Stalin organ to the tank destroyer. The enormous technology amazes us and gives the exhibition something plastic and real.
Our tour is coming to an end. Thomas and I say goodbye, he gets into his Volga, I get on my bike. Never again war! - We'll both take the thought home with us.
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