Prayer around a former Nazi War Office

I am reading a book called, "And Another Morning is Breaking" by Regina J. Schwenke.  The book details Regina's childhood from 1938 (when she was born) to New Years Eve 1949.  She was raised in Neukolln (a district in Berlin) and it is so amazing that her whole family (of seven) survived the war.  One day when she and her siblings were playing outside their home a dirty, skinny man came walkng down the street.  "He was wearing a soldiers uniform.  He looked like all the other men these days, so we paid no attention.  We saw him questioning people and finally he asked us if we knew where the Ziebarths, who used to live here were now?  He was looking for his family, who used to live here in No. 2.  No. 2:  that was us!  We took a closer at him, and finally recognized our own father.  We hadn't seem him in two years and didn't expect him to appear so suddenly.  All at once he, too, recognized us.  He embraced all three of us.  Tears of joy flowed down his emaciated face.  It was as if we had been born again, because he had feared that we would lie buried under the rubble of our house."  (Pg. 132). They almost WERE buried in their home.  Half of their building was destroyed (while they were in the cellar) and they had to leave, but thankfully were able to take over a flat in their Grandparents building where the occupants had sadly died. 

Not far from their home was the headquarters of the former National Self-Defense where important decisions were made during the war.  There were offices, medical examination rooms, and air-raid shelters for the Nazi-elite. They had heard that there were rations of food stored there and the author, her brother and Aunt went there one day to see what they could find.  The complex was badly damaged as the Allied Forces had singled it out as a place of permanent attack.  The front of the building was in a pile of rubble.  They found a demolished cellar entrance and debris blocked the way.  They had to clear a path and crawl into the cellar.  When they reached the dark cellar room, they lit candles and were shocked to find many dead bodies sitting or lying on the benches right before them.  Children were cradled in their mothers' arms even in death.  Their Aunt recognized by the uniforms that they were high-ranking SS and SA Officers. They supposed that they had taken cyanide capsules when they realized the war was over.  The Aunt told the children to just look straight ahead.  The went into the third cellar room where they found flour, sugar, tea, soap, toothpaste, and toilet paper.  As they were starving, this must  have been quite the amazing find.

The author tells her address and the address of the Nazi Offices so I decided to make those places my prayer focus on this day.  Here is a picture of the Nazi Offices located on Pfluger Str. 46.

 

There was a huge field to the left of the buildings which is now a Preschool and I am assuming that there had been buildings in the field which had been bombed.  I prayed up and down Pfluger Str.  I also found the Catholic Church where the family had attended.  They had used the cellar in the church for protection from the bombs at night when half of their apartment was destroyed by bombs and the building was uninhabitable.

 I found their former apartment building which of course had been rebuilt.  I walked along the canal just a block away from their home where they had played.  

At times it feels overwhelming to think about the history of Berlin in the not so long ago distance.  On the other hand, it is sad that in just 10-20 years time few (in any) will be left who will be able to tell us of those days.  As I walk the streets I continue to pray for restoration and healing.  May the healing even go into the very soil of Germany.