European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 27, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                It by to a statue of a soviet Soldier greets visitors. By de Reavis staff writer t s a shame that who soviet Victory museum in. The Karls Horst Section of Berlin is closed and being totally redone to meet the demands of modern times. A a shame because the memorial museum on Fritz Schmenkel Strasse is a museum piece in itself a perfect reflection of 1930s aesthetics and. Of the propaganda and pathos typical on both sides of the Battle front of world War ii which he former soviets still Call the great patriotic War. And one should not forget that that kind of pathos was the driving emotion that inspired the red army and the soviet people to great sacrifices in their struggle to rid their nation of the nazi oppressor Back in the Days when the red army was a Welcome Western ally. A the. Karls Horst museum is also the site of Germany s unconditional surrender to Russia on May 8, 1945 a one Day after it surrendered to the Western allies a and the room is As carefully preserved As the one in Potsdam s Berlin overhauling memorial to departed soviets the multiple missile launcher that terrorized Berlin sits Ajjie my where nazi Germany formally surrendered to the russians has been carefully preserved and is one of in a Garden of the soviet Victory museum. The main features of the museum. A amps photos by de Reavis a Row of posters shows the Art and slogans used to inspire the soviet people to Battle the nazis during world War it. A Vladimir Ilyitch Lenin once held a place of Honor in the memorial museum. Cecilie Rishof residence where the victors signed agreements to disarm and Divide Germany that same year. ,. The museum which was opened  a private visit had 14 exhibition rooms  Memorabilia of the red army s struggle against the nazi invaders with the Battle of Berlin As the Centrepiece. The exhibit also highlighted the activity of the National committee for a free Germany composed of German communists who fought on the Side of the soviets. The one aspect of the museum that particularly bothers the Post communist world is its emphasis on world War h being a War of classes and not nations and that the claim that fascism is a natural outgrowth of capitalism. Historian Viktor Godynia is one of the staffers of the German historical museum in Berlin working on the new concept for the museum which is scheduled to reopen next May for the 50th anniversary of Germany s surrender during world War ii. Quot we re working with russian historians on revamping the museum. Several things will stay but the Outlook will be expanded Quot Godynia said. He said the room where Germany surrendered will remain As wit i the o of ice of Mars a i Georgi i Konstantinovic Zhukov the Quot Genera who never lost a Battle Quot and who captured Berlin. The tanks and artillery in the museum Garden will also remain. One is the legendary Stalin s Organ a a multiple missile launcher that caused the German army and Berlin civilians much grief. A a. Quot. Quot we will expand the exhibit which Only covers the years 1941 to 1945, to include the years 191 7 to 1990.&Quot Godynia said. Quot this Means including the entire spectrum of Cerman russian relations including economics and culture the wars and the  another room will be dedicated to the role of the Western allies in the War Effort something neglected in the old museum. The. New museum will be financially supported by Russia and Germany and run by a Board of experts from these countries. Quot we Hope the museum will become a meeting place for russians and germans. We will have several rooms to put up visiting historians and political scientists Quot Corrnia. Said. A. The new museum will also have one Small Section dedicated to a Phrynia s special Field of study the internment of germans by the soviets in the former concentration Camps. Quot i be collected a wealth of information on the problem but there will Only be a Small showcase on the phenomenon Quot Godynia said. Godynia also Hopes the museum will serve As a reminder to the world of what communism did to Eastern Germany. He called the communist system a vicious Circle of victims and perpetrators from which there was no escape. Quot everyone living under such a system knew there was. No escape from the role that the system had chosen for you to play As victim or Tormentor Quot he said. Quot the strange thing for us while living under such a system was to know that Western intellectuals praised  for Sale the exhibits Are inside a simple looking building. By the Deutsche Presse Agenter what do you do with an old spy facility spiked with antennae radar domes that look like oversized Golf balls and Blinker style work Roor is deep in a Mountainside the spooks have Long since gone from the compound at the top of Berlin s Teut Elsberg a Devil s Mountain quo which during the cold War served As the West s Quot ears to the  but High barbed Vire fences and an unused watch Over indicate that Here was once a top secret Allied installation in Berlin s Lush Grunewald District. Two red lights glow atop the main building and if you clamber out on a narrow Iron ledge embracing the highest radar dome you have a View of Berlin that s breathtaking. Some 150 . And British intelligence officials worked Here at one time but now it s just another relic of the cold War in Berlin with the sole due to its former activity being a giant .-made shredding machine store deep inside the Mountain. After its sophisticated listening and monitoring gear was dismantled and sent Back to Washington and London the facility was handed Back to the Berlin government in. 1992. Ever since officials have been seeking a new role for the place. A. But How do you privatize a huge spying facility Devil s Mountain has always been popular with berliners who use its slopes for sledding and skiing in a Winter and for walks and climbs in the summer months. Really a Hill and not a Mountain its size mushroomed. After world War ii when it became a dump for All the rubble from the bomb devastated capital. Quot All in All 16 million cubic meters about 21 million Yards of City ruins were trucked there a twice the amount of Earth excavated to make Way for the recently opened Tunnel linking England and France Quot says Jasper. Halfmann a Berlin architect. Hired by Berlin authorities to seek investors and work out a new concept for the property Halfman has researched its curious history. In the late 1930s, the nazis planned a third Reich of diversity there a Hitler s answer to Oxford it was said. The University was already under construction when the r red army captured Berlin in april 1945. Later the americans requisitioned the site recognizing its value As a listening Post. As for the Field station s past role he is guarded. Quot i Haven t had a Chance to discuss that with intelligence officials Quot he says. Quot i gather the main task was monitoring troop movements in the former Warsaw pact countries and legend has it listening in to Telephone conversations in . 1 in 1981, a soviet Diplomat and three soviet army officers were kicked out of West Berlin after trying to obtain secrets about its role from a . Army sergeant a few years later three envoys at the soviet embassy in East Berlin were nabbed trying to recruit . Servicemen working at the Devil s Mountain facility. A a when the Berlin Wall fell the facility s eavesdropping function was Over. Halfmann says he s looking for a major . Investor with an interest in Berlin history but time is pressing. The buildings Cost $31,000 a month to maintain while empty. Quot we would like to see the facility have a mixed usage Quot says Halfmann. Quot ideally with a hotel a restaurant with a fabulous View and sports and cultural amenities with perhaps some new age  a a scrupps Howard news service wednesday july 27, 1994 the 5tars and stripes 19