Rheinsteinpark

On the way to the tour stop Andernacher Straße / Königswinterstraße we can listen to a few interviews between Jeremy Knowles and Wolfgang Schneider as well as Marianne Streisand.

Interviews

Location: The walk to Andernacher Str./Königswinterstr.

Roadside Picnic:

The sidewalk’s getting closer and closer, there’s the shadow of the boot inching over the brambles … Here’s the Zone! And instantly a chill runs down my spine. I feel it every time, but I still don’t know whether it’s the Zone greeting me or a stalker’s nerves acting up. Every time I figure I’ll go back and ask others if they feel it too, and every time I forget.

Jeremy Knowles:

Do you mind if I walk with you? We’ll follow the road down Rheinsteinstrasse, and then take a right into the park.

Wolfgang Schneider:

The entrances to the restricted area were at the front on Rheinsteinstrasse, corner of Ehrenfelsstrasse, that was the main entrance. When the restricted area was reduced in size, originally, between 1945 and 1949, the entrance was directly under the S-Bahn bridge. That was ideal as an entrance because they didn't have to close off much. That was where the barrier was. In 1947 it was moved back to the level of Dönhoffstrasse. That was the first one. And then, after 1949, it was moved back to Rheinsteinstrasse, corner of Ehrenfelsstrasse.

My name is Wolfgang Schneider. I'm a teacher by profession and have lived in Karlshorst since 1957. And when I retired in 2015, I thought about what I was going to do in my retirement. And that's when I joined the Karlshorst History Friends. And since 2015 I have been intensively studying the history of Karlshorst.

So back to 1945, around 1000 houses here in Karlshorst were requisitioned by the Soviet occupying forces. 1000.

And because the capitulation was supposed to take place here - the official meeting - the people of Karlshorst had to leave Karlshorst on May 5th. Karlshorst was evacuated with megaphones and leaflets.

The people were all afraid of what would happen if the Russians came. They were all very scared. Then they went to church, huddled together and then the priest came and said, we all have to get out. Within twelve hours, Karlshorst was evacuated. And they were only allowed to take what they could carry with them. So they had to leave all their furniture inside, their furnishings and so on. Now you might say, oh, terrible. But that was actually normal for the end of the war. And Karlshorst is not unique in that respect. The same thing happened in the western occupation zones, or in the western occupation sectors of Berlin.

Jeremy Knowles:

If you've already made it to the park, head in and take the path that goes through the middle, past the statue on your left side and the ping-pong tables to your right.

Marianne Streisand:

Oh, I love Karlshorst! I love Karlshorst. And we once had a discussion with friends from the West about what home actually means to us. And then I said, well, if I have any kind of feeling of home, then I still have it for Karlshorst.

My name is Marianne Streisand and my connection with Karlshorst is that I spent the first quarter of my life there. From birth to the age of 26, I lived on Gundelfinger Strasse. I went to school there and so on. I also lived there when I was studying.

So the restricted area was part of our everyday life, so to speak. It just existed. It kept getting pushed back over the years.

The policeman always stood there at the open door. And I think they also had some kind of guardhouse or something. And there he stood, well, I can't remember them opening it - in any way, it was open. But everyone who went in there was asked for their pass, or they smiled and let us through.

What is also known is that we felt really sorry for the soldiers. They were not in the restricted area, but in the barracks behind the `Trabrennbahn’ somewhere. Barracked and there, they had to live really, really badly, not enough to eat and very poor, they didn't even have underpants.

Wolfgang Schneider:

You have to imagine, put yourself in the shoes of a German who had his house here in 1945 or 1946. Just try to imagine it. You had, you were a woman, that was your house that your husband built for you. That was your life insurance, your income, maybe you got rent and so on. And suddenly that was gone. You had nothing left except your life. And then there was the Agaschewski family, for example. Mr.

Agaschewski was an architect. He had built entire houses, rows of houses here in Karlshorst. They were his property and after his death the inheritance was divided up. And his wife had gotten most of the houses. She was 75 years old at the time. Now the Soviets have requisitioned her house. She had to leave and she had nothing. There was no way you could go to the townhall and apply for citizen's allowance and housing benefit. No, there wasn't any in 1945. You had nothing. And there was no prospect either. When will the Russians leave again? In a year, in five years, in ten years, I'll already be dead.

She didn't wait until they were transferred to public ownership or anything else, but in 1946 she said, well, I'll accept the offer now, I'll sell my houses. I don't know when the Russians will leave here. When they're gone and give me back my property. But I'll take it now and at least have a little money so that I can live. That is the story of the houses in question on Königswinterstrasse and Andernacherstrasse.

I cannot tell you which Soviet officer lived in which house. I can only say, yes, there were Soviet officers who lived here. Perhaps I can then differentiate: Yes, it was a `KGB` employee. It was a `Gru` employee. It was a military employee, an officer. Or it was the Soviet doctor or the Soviet teacher who worked here at the school. We can differentiate that far, but we cannot record names.

Jeremy Knowles:

When you come out of the park on Andernacherstraße, take a right. You’ll soon notice the empty

houses. When you get there, find a spot where you have a good view of them.