Sue Arns (former Blumenthal)

Dear friends, this is the Berlin-Newsletter 01/2010 from Sue and Eckart Arns

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My special thanks to all of you who are passing our newsletter to your friends and sending us nice and lovely emails. We just love it.

My special thanks also to my wonderful husband Eckart, who keeps saving all the little snippets from the newspaper and informing me about all important events until I eventually sit down to write our 4th newsletter today and for providing the subtitles for the little movie.


About our private life

I couldn't sit down to write this newsletter earlier, since our oldest cat (18 years) got Diabetes and we had to learn to treat him and inject Insuline, we had to learn to test his blood-sugar and so on. Eventually we did a good job and after all he is doing fine without Insuline now for already 7 days and probably is cured after we changed his food and took care about what he eats. Not an easy job I can tell you.

florian


The little movie (3,5 minutes) giving a short overview about my life was broadcasted on February 2nd on TV. To watch it click here or onto the picture:

interview

Eckarts Giur (exam in front of the Beit Din) will definitely be on February 18th, afterwards he will go to the Mikwe and be a member of our tribe. My special thanks to our friend Rachel, who is also receiving this newsletter, for sitting down twice a week with him to teach him Hebrew and the Brachot.
We will keep you informed about our Jewish wedding under the Chuppa.


January 27 – Commemoration of the Shoah in Germany

While in Israel Yom HaShoah takes place this year on April 11 (the date changes every year) in Germany the commemoration date of the Shoah victims has been declared to be on January 27, which is the liberation anniversary of Auschwitz.

This year (and only one week after the official visit of Binyamin Netanyahu to Berlin) the president of Israel Shimon Peres visited our city on this anniversary to hold a speech in the Reichstag Building in front of our parliament, which was broadcasted live on German TV.

He held a very moving speech and spoke about his grandfather being a rabbi and a very wise man. Peres recalled saying farewell to his grandfather before he, as a child, was sent by train to Israel to escape the Nazi troops approaching his hometown, Wiszniewo, in Belarus. "I remember his last words to me, instructing me: 'My boy, always stay a Jew'. The locomotive whistled and the train pulled away ... it was the last time that I saw him." As the Nazis marched into Wiszniewo, Peres said, "they ordered all Jews [including his grandparents] to gather in the Synagogue ... the doors were sealed from the outside and the wooden building was set alight, and the only thing that was left of the whole community were red-hot ashes and smoke."
Peres' speech was very emotional, very special and touched so many hearts.

During his 3-day visit, Peres also visited the memorial at the deportation station Grunewald, the one we visit during our tours.

gleis17


The German President, Horst Köhler, said that "... the responsibility resulting from the Shoah is and remains part of the German identity".


Fashion Week and Bread & Butter

The Fashion Week Berlin and fair Bread & Butter took place in Berlin in January and was quite successful. Berlin is becoming more and more a city with quite interesting fashion labels and wonderful Berlinish brands.

More than 200.000 visitors came to Berlin to join this great event which took place inside the former Airport Tempelhof and many other locations.

The central location for the Fashion Week (sponsored by Mercedes) was a huge tent allocated at the plaza Bebelplatz on top of the memorial to the book burning. Therefore the memorial was to be visited only and when no fashion show was on. Many people protested (as they had done in the years before) against the event taking place on this plaza and finally, Mercedes and the Federal State Government of Berlin gave in and will present the catwalk somewhere else in the years to come.

bookburningsquare


The story behind the story: The memorial to the book burning was created by the Israeli artist Micha Ullman. Many Berlin Jews went on and on to protest against the mistreating of this important historical location.




Olafur Eliasson-Exhibit starting on April 28th

Starting on April 28 this great and creative artist will have an exhibit in Berlin in the Museum Martin Gropius Bau. The pieces will be specially designed by him for this extraordinary exhibit.

Website of the Exhibition




Berlin Film-Festival "Berlinale" from Feb. 11 - 21st

The 60th Berlin Film Festival will have 2 world premieres: "Shutter Island" from Martin Scorsese with Leonardo di Caprio, Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow starring. At the same time also the debut of "The Ghost Writer" from Roman Polanski with Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall and Ewan McGregor.

Berlinale-Website




Fritz Lang's Metropolis at the Brandenburg Gate and Friedrichstadtpalast on February 12th

Fritz Lang's masterpiece "Metropolis" (1925/26) will be presented in the theater "Friedrichstadtpalast" and simultaneously open air at the Brandenburg Gate. After all 40 copies of the movie have been lost for decades a rather complete copy (in very bad condition) of the movie was found in summer 2008 in Buenos Aires and after its complete restauration will be presented in Berlin.

More information and an exhibit dedicated to this masterpiece with genuine Dokuments, drawings etc. to be found in the Film Museum in the Sony Center under the name "The Complete Metropolis".

Metropolis-Website (worthwile to see!)




"Unknown White Male"

Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger are in Berlin for a couple of weeks for the shooting of this new movie. Some of the shots being done in the Studio Babelsberg (near Potsdam) and some open air in Berlin. The longlasting snow and ice in the city is causing some problems to the film team, since the rivers are frozen and the streets completely blocked with ice and snow.

But I am sure there is no problem that Hollywood experts won't be able to solve. We are proud and happy to have so many Hollywood movies being shot in Berlin.


George Grosz-Exhibit in the Akademie der Künste in Berlin

As one of the founders of Berlin Dada and New Objectivity Group, Grosz was an convinced Anti-Nazi and left Germany 1932. He taught at the Art Students League of New York until 1955.

The George Grosz exhibit is running from January 24 until April 5 at the Akademie der Künste near the Brandenburg Gate (the one beside the Frank Gehry building).

One of his drawings impressed me deeply: Joshua with a gas mask.


Frida Kahlo in the Martin-Gropius-Bau

Starting on April 30 until August 9 the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum will present an exhibit of this great painter and some of her art works which had been sort of lost for decades. Besides of the paintings and drawings a photo-show will be available to the public giving a valuable insight into her very private life.


Queen Luise and her life in 3 different exhibits

Queen Luise – a special woman and wife of King Frederic William III (during the Napoleonic wars) - her 200th death anniversary is on July 19 this year. Therefore we will have the opportunity to visit 3 different exhibits, one of which seems quite interesting to me at takes place in Charlottenburg Palace from March 6 – May 31st.

Two more exhibits will take place in the palace on Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island) and her private residence in the palace in Paretz near Berlin.


Public Competition to commemorate Georg Elser

Georg Elser, the resistance fighter who unsuccessfully tried to kill Hitler in November 1939 in Munich by crafting a bomb and hiding it in the "Bürgerbräukeller" brewery shall be commemorated on a very symbolic location: There, where the Hitlers Reichs-Chancellory once stood, there will be a commemoration to this couraged man. The competiton is on. We will keep you informed.


Konzerts of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra online

Yepp – it is true but unfortunately, like everything in life, not free of charge. But for those among you who love this wonderful orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle and /or other famous conductors the concerts can be watched online at http://dch.berliner-philharmoniker.de/#/en/ live in HD Quality and CD-quality sound.

Single concerts are available for 9.90 Euros, a 30 days subscription for 39 Euros and a season ticket for 149 Euros.


Krug Room inside the Restaurant "Ma"

Beside the very exclusive Krug Rooms in London (Hotel "The Dorchester") and Hongkong (Hotel "Mandarin Oriental") the Berlin Krug Room opened within the Restaurant "Ma" inside the Adlon Complex.

On request, Tim Raue (the Chef) and his wife Marie-Anne open the very private and individual dining room for a very exclusive private experience with an aura of secrecy and individuality serving Iraninan Beluga Caviar to the highest-priced Champagne on the market. A screen allows to have a glance into the kitchen. Up to 8 guests can be seated in this separate room.

Allow yourself to be pampered on a quite high standard – available only Tuesday to Saturday on request.



Well - that's all for today. We send you all our best wishes.

Sue and Eckart Arns

your Berlin Dream-Team


February 4th, 2010

Sue & Eckart

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Sue Arns Stadtführungen (former Sue Blumenthal) Landshuter Str. 28 10779 Berlin sue@arns.de www.sue-arns.de www.jewish-touring-berlin.com