Together at Teufelsberg!

Over the river and through the woods...to Teufelsberg we go?  After getting off the S-Bahn train, we didn't know exactly what would await us atop this artificial hill of old rubble and ruins that had been transferred here during the first few decades following World War II.  We knew Teufelsberg was abandoned.  But what would we see there now?  And what had it been?

To find out, we first hiked for thirty minutes through a path in the woods as students tossed a frisbee back and forth.  The trees shaded us from the intensity of the sun and our stroll was pleasant.  Once we rounded one last corner, our guide appeared.  

"Teufelsberg is history AND Teufelsberg is art," our tour guide told us.  And it turns out, not only did he know the history...he lived it.  He had worked many decades ago here at the old Field Station, listening in to the military traffic of the Soviets and East Germans.  Throughout the tour, we traversed the graffiti-covered area as he repeatedly reminded us, "Stories first - pictures later."  He knew the history and we saw the art.

Not only did we see the art...we were fascinated by it.  We were transported to the past through the stories of the Listening Station while also enamored by the way the art had transformed the old buildings.  Students exclaimed many things about the art: "It's so detailed!  Do you SEE that eyeball?" and "What do you think the gloves symbolize?" and "I'd love to pitch a tent and live here so I can fully take this in."

The art was vibrant and often connected to politics, the environment, immigration, and more!  Some students showed me their own art they create for social change.  As we wove in and out and up the old buildings, we were transfixed by the swirling colors and sprawling letters.

So go ahead and take a look for yourself at some of the immersive murals of Teufelsberg below:

We climbed up the stairs of one building until we reached the top where several domes stood.  We got to sing a few songs and make sounds to experience the acoustics.  AND we got a stunning view of all of Berlin.

After our tour was over, some students didn't want to leave.  It was "peaceful," they said.  In a place that is indeed full of a history of war and has always been political, it is fitting that the art here expresses the politics of the present.  And the enduring hope for peace.