Show modern berlin retains unique U n ique native na tive habits prepared pre aea by Nati national e arsics society biety washington anton D C w N u service ce berlin is without the slums found in many large cities of the world far less venerable many unfit dwelling houses on narrow streets have been torn down in their place stand settlements groups grou is of apartments offering decent moderately priced quarters for workers families nearly have been colstr constructed acted some have small gardens a attached in addition to the city de settlements sefile ments are some hugs huge ones sponsored by industrial enterprises the outstanding example is that of the siemens company that colossal producer of electrical machinery which was established in 1847 its berlin plants employ e m pa 0 y more than workers ale siemens me ns stadt has grown up around the works forming an integral part ol of berlin there are model apartments schools hospitals churches playgrounds and theaters afi the e AUge melne Gesell schaft the general electric company 0 of germany has likewise gone far tn in developing proper housing for or its berlin employees the task of aiding the needy Is being largely handled by the winter aid campaign there are in the whole ot of germany one and a quarter million voluntary workers contributing their services which has kept administrative costs of the organization down to 1 per cent ot of the total sum handled principal among the methods ot of raising money are lotteries the sale of badges and little handmade ornaments ot of negligible cost and the erlb one dish meal once a month in private houses restaurants and hotels away from the 6 city ty where on earth are au all the people pl eyou you find yourself asking as you walk through the deserted streets on a fine sunday afternoon certainly at this samo same hour the champs is thronged thron ged with a c chattering battering strolling mob but this Is not francel Fr aiice we are in germany land ot of probably the most devoutly nature loving people ot of the northern hemisphere the berliner bealmer Berl mer with his sisters and his cousins and his aunts and grandfather and grandmother thrown in has joined in a daybreak exodus to woods and lakes those who own some sort of boat go by the water route by eight rivers and canals swarm with craft Falt boote small folding canoes with double bladed paddles predominate in the motley van are arc also canoes ot of american pattern na A Z 4 construction work goes rapidly on the new broad highway that will bisect berlin from west to east and is a part of the vast road building program undertaken by hitler hiller I 1 in it 1938 a total of 1864 miles m grogram rr es were added to the count rys system of express motor highways sailing boats of widely diversified rigs motorboats motor boats no bigger than bathtubs bathtub sputtering along by the thrust of outboard kickers sleek rangy launches small yachts gliding with clever arrogance through crowded lanes at intervals the ranks open up tor for the pas passage 9 e of berlins ser river steamers plying from B berlins lins I 1 center to outlying resorts lining the shores are series of tent cities aggregations of wood and canvas weekend week end domiciles domiciled domi ciles huddled together at the waters edge stand the units of these flimsy col colonies onles a welter wellei of happy confusion from cook stoves comes a hunger teasing aroma of browning sausages coffee bubbles on the see sec ond end burner dishwashing axom a communal affair engenders endless chaffing and laughter daughter bax flaxen en haired sun crisped youths wrestle with accordions the instruments panting and wheezing in melodious exhaustion on grassy fields fat women in iii purple chemises rush nimbly about hurling blue rubber rings ring over the thel heads beads of their shouting relatives brown arms thrash the water of the lake into diamond showers the koepenick district is one ol of wistful nostalgic beauty langer see see scene of the an nual dual yachting races and Teti fels see de devils virg tak lake e lure hosts hosti of wa wanderers n on an island stands the castle of koepenick Koc penick which has played an important role in history here wax was the trial of al V A VV IN 99 ga 1 g 1 1111 11 11 1 1 I 1 A A 4 10 4 i A modern berlin department store typical of the new architecture featuring this thi s enterprising ter german city the crown prince frederick of prussia afterward frederick the great court martl aled by his own father far akcay names about two hours drive east of berlin you come across a strange phenomenon of nomenclature near Ku buestrin estrin in the Oder bruch a region of fertile flat fiat lands watered by the oder river you stare with incredulous astonishment upon encountering a group of villages which bear the names maryland saratoga hampshire pennsylvania and Vai jamaica balca even more exotic were malta sumatra and ceylon the houses are of typical north german architecture with little emphasis on the picturesque but the roots roofs of these nondescript bui buildings edings harbor the descendants of a group of would we uld be pioneers who longed to gaze ver over 0 far horizons the story of how the villages acquired their names is interesting it seems that in the days when frederick the great was forming the villages of the spree havel district into the semblance of a city there rose up a group 0 of restless souls who wanted to transfer their destinies to america and other such outlandish spots frederick opposed to the colonizing idea said a firm and peremptory not noll he offered them instead lush lands lying along the banks ot of the nearby oder and as a sop to their thwarted wanderlust suggested they name their new settlements tle ments after faraway places with commendable docility they settled down sublimating their extravagant desires by building dikes to curb the wandering habit of oders banks german oddities there is a streak of 0 sentimentality in inthe the berliner character that expresses itself in many ways which the sophisticated urbanite of other countries would probably sum up as quaint what for example could be quainter than that splayfooted splay footed anachronism the dachshund yet this comic strip creature still holds leading place among canine pets in berlin bera following in order of popularity seem to come the halry balry chinned schnauzer and the boxer with his bis worried conscientious black muzzle many department stores maintain a special room for or the parking ot of s shoppers hoppers pups each dog is as signed a bed and blanket while mistress seeks bargains luxl or lumpe waits chained to his post sniffing reproach another odal oddity ty of of department demartin de partin ent store custom Is the brass rack just inside the street door fitted with slots for holding the cigars of male customers one never sue suc ceede in securing a satisfactory explanation of how the rightful owner can be assured of recovering his bis original stub an anomaly of the public utilla situation Is dual ownership part of the system is owned by bi the city the rest is the property of the state |