History & Hope

In Griebnitzsee you can still find the mansions Churchill, Truman and Stalin lived in during the negotiations for the the Potsdam Treaty from July 17 to August 2 1945. It was in this mansion where President Truman issued the order to General Spatz that led to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Griebnitzsee you therefore find Hiroshima Square right opposite the Truman Mansion in memory of the victims.

President Obama also chose Berlin as the place for his first comprehensive speech on foreign policy when he was still a presidential candidate. His vision of a peaceful world without nuclear weapons characterized by solidarity and cooperation marks a historic change in U.S. foreign policy - at a historic place. Like in many other key areas of international politics, President Obama has therefore provided new hope to the world that human society can be transformed in a way that nations, cultures and religions can live peacefully side by side. If 20th century Berlin is remembered mainly as the capital city of Nazi Germany and political melting pot during Cold War confrontations, let us all hope that 21st century Berlin will be remembered for the beginning of a new era of peacefulness in Western foreign policy.