Prague, Berlin and History

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22, 2021 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Update: September 22, 2023: This is more important now than ever. Be vigilant and speak in your own way. Love Wins.

Update:  McQuade, Barbara, "Attack From Within," 2024.  New York Times best seller.

I recently (4/24) returned from a river cruise from Prague to Berlin. It was luxurious at times as you would expect when you go on a cruise.

But Meredy and I chose to make it a living lesson on the Holocaust and the Cold War. Starting with four days in and around Prague, we chose optional experiences to learn more about WW2 from the perspective of the former Czechoslovakia and a Berlin divided ideology and a wall.

To put it in a nutshell, The Czechs didn’t choose authoritarian rule. The Germans were the victims of botched foreiign policy by the victorious forces of WW1. The U.S. has no excuse for implementing an authoritarian government.

I have always been intrigued by the events of WW2 because my Dad was involved in it. But since 47 made his first appearance to announce his first presidential run, I have become immersed in it both in my travels and in the books that have attracted my attention.

Our last trip to Eastern Europe was filled with marvelous scenery, historic sites and building new friendships. But underneath it, at least for me, was a yearning to learn about WW2 and the Cold War with Russia that ended (at least the first time) in 1989 when the Soviet Union collapsed and the Berlin Wall came down. Check Point Charlie was the best known Berlin Wall crossing point between 1961 and 1989. It is still a destination point for tourists.

We visited such sights as the Terezin Concentration Camp in the The Czech Republic, the museum of the East German secret police known as “The Stasi”, the Museum of Communism in Prague and a tour focused on the Cold War in Berlin which is also where the Stasi Museum is located.

The Jewish Quarter of Prague is in remarkably good condition. The story I heard was that Hitler ordered it preserved so that it could be used as a historical site to document a lost race.

The Berlin Wall figured prominently in our look at the Cold War. Parts of it were in situ as it was from 1961-1989 and other parts had been moved to other sites to help tell the story. At least 140 people killed trying to get over the wall. Each death was a potential public relations nightmare for the East German government and the Soviet Union. The Reichstag, the seat of Germany’s government, stood rebuilt and proud in central Berlin as does the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of the reunified German Republic.

Terezin, Czech Republic

Terezin was a Prussian fort that was never used during the age of monarchs, but it came in very handy for the Nazis. It was used to produce disinformation videos showing how well Jewish prisoners were being treated. It was also the camp opened up to the Red Cross in a controversial tour of the facility on June 23, 1944. In fact, Theresinstadt (the German name for the site) functioned as a transit point where Jews were transported to the death camps to the east including, but not limited to Auschwitz and it’s sister camp nearby at Birkenau in Poland.

Our trip along the Elbe River took us to the ceremonial place in Torgau where American and Russian forces effectively split the German army in two on April 25, 1945. This event that came to be known as Elbe Day made the collapse of the Third Reich only a matter of time. One of the American soldiers involved in Elbe Day, Joe Polowsky, went on to become an advocate for world peace. The “Oath to the Elbe” was born.

Everything that I look at these days is looked at through the lens of American politics. I am rather resentful that my retirement travels are significantly affected by the regime currently controlling our government . But at the same time, I’m thankful that my travels have provided me with numerous opportunities to learn history through my travels. I am blessed to have the opportunities and even more blessed to have the desire to share them. and still even more blessed to have people like you to them with.

Traveling through eastern Europe puts a microscope on what is happening under our very eyes in the world today. I’m acutely aware of the parallels between the Germany of the 1930s and 40s and the United States of the early part of the 21st Century. What we are experiencing now might be considered Nazi-light, but make no mistake that the intentions of American Fascists are not that much different than the National Socialist Party of Adolph Hitler.

Never forget, vote and resist in any way that you can. Enjoy a few photos from the trip. From left to Right: Brandenburg Gate (Berlin), Ship Chef Dominic at work, Church door where Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to the Catholic Church (Whittenberg), Meredy bundled up an a rainy day, a beautiful old building across the Elbe R. (Dresden), Konigstein Fortress (near Bad Schandau), Prague Castle, Duck Store (near Charles Bridge, Prague), Chimney Cake shop (one of many around Prague), Art piece (Theresinstadt), street sign (Prague), Synagogue (Jewish Quarter, Prague), Jewish Cemetery (Jewish Quarter, Prague), some of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust (Prague Synagogue), tribute to people who were killed attempting to cross the Berlin Wall, person walking their dog (from the ship at Bad Schandau), Geologic site called The Bastei (near Bad Schandau), Prague Astronomical Clock from the 16th Century,