Figure 1.--Here the boys are in Berlin. In the background is the Reichstag building--a burned out shell. The NAZIs used the Reichstag fire to act against the Communists and pther political opponents. It was never restored. The writing over the Reichstag read, "Dem Deutschen Volk" (For the German People).

Here the boys are in front of the Reichstag building--the Reichstagsgebäude. The Reichstag was the German parliament. It was established after the unification of Germany (1871). The building was constructed to house the parliament several years later. It was completed and opened (1894). We see the boys at the Reichstag, but at this time it was a burned out shell. The NAZIs used the Reichstag fire to act against the Communists and other political opponents (1933). It was never restored. The writing over the Reichstag read, "Dem Deutschen Volk" (For the German People). All of Hitler's appearances before the Reichstag were held at a nearby opera house. Even so, when the Red Army stormed, the Reichstag was the main objective and heavily defended by die hard SS men. Some of the boys here may have been involved in the defense of Berlin. German unification ended the Cold war (1989). This made it possible for Berlin to be German capital again. The Reichstag was finally renovated It again became the seat of the German parliament in 1999 after a reconstruction led by internationally renowned architect Norman Foster. The German parliament today is called the Bundestag.