A journey to the past – Hamburg part 3

I surrender, I unconditionally surrender for my atrocities against mankind, and for a society that accepted it.


This day marks the victory of Europe over Germany in 1945. It is an ominous reminder that the intoxicating drug to have supreme power is short lived with its consequences outlasting the annals of time. The animosity against Germans still exists, not matter how apologetic and remorse they have been.

In the city of Hamburg, the Ohlsdorf cemetery is Europe's largest . Established in 1877, the grounds are also known as the Garden cemetery. These photographs were taken on a bleak day in 1994. the park is so large that you need a car to commute to end to end. - thebookmann

A journey to the past – Berlin part 2

In time of penance, the devil raises his head

This is the inner ceiling of the Emperor Wilhelm's Memorial Church in Berlin photographed in 1994. The Mosaics recall the life of Emperor Wilhelm I, and it is restored at best to give you a sense of the detailed beauty and workmanship in the tiles, amidst the physical scaring. In 1943, the church was destroyed by the British bombing campaign on Berlin. At Breitscheidplatz, only the tower and fragments of the church remain. - thebookmann

A journey to the past – Berlin part 1

If I knew my future to be so grim, I would have acted my life with compassion

If you look closely at the wall behind the heaps of dilapidated cars and trucks, you will notice some graffiti spray painted onto the concrete slabs. The wall in question is the west side of the Berlin Wall.

It is strange when you lack a history of a place or its customs how insignificant things appear to be. If your were able to see the other side, there is a clear pathway or the death strip between the fence and concrete wall where once Germans were shot trying to escape by the blood of their very own kind.

These are photographs taken in 1994 and at a time the united cities of East and West were in a feverish hast to reform a New Berlin to somehow erase their troubled past. The marking that once controlled and divided both cities are lines seamlessly drawn. - thebookmann