Saint Hedwig's Church is located in central Berlin and was originally built between 1747 and 1773. However, while Berlin was being raided in the Second World War, the cathedral was destroyed. Reconstruction began in 1952 after the war and damages had been collected.[1] Since the reconstruction in 1952, Saint Hedwig's still stands where it was originally built and remains open to the public for Holy Mass, wedding bookings and so forth. The building needs new renovations, and the cathedral is planning to be rebuilt by 2023 with new, modern designs.[2] The church was the first Catholic church in Berlin after the Reformation. When it was originally built, the name was given as Hedwig to represent a symbol of freedom of religious expression in the Catholic community that was prominently Protestant before.[3] As for the design of the Cathedral itself, the original design was drawn upon from Rome's Pantheon with concrete. The Cathedral is easily recognizable by the large copper dome that covers the Church top.[4] Although the Church is closed for the renovations as previously mentioned, the Church stands in the original locations and continues to serve the same function as it did in from before and during the Second World War. The main function being serving as a safe place for children and other Jewish members of the community to go to for safety and shelter during the horrendous years of the war.

This destination is the fourth stop on the Cruel Childhood: the Experiences of Youth Minorities in Nazi Berlin Walking Tour.

While Saint Hedwig's church was able to act as a form of resistance during the second world war in terms of keeping Jewish youth and adults safe in Berlin, the Church was not always a positive influence in the Second World War. In general, as the lives of Germans changed, Church attendance went down, and the aspects and cultural remnants of Catholicism were no longer as present as they once were.[5] However, the struggles for youth between religion and their everyday lives became harder, especially under the Nazi regime. While systems such as education were conforming to the ideologies and policies under the Nazi regime, the church was as well, but with more resistance. Despite the resistance however, the leadership of Germany was actively anti-religious, and that reflected into the children. As schools, homes, and now churches were being taken over, children were eventually forced to join the Hitler Youth group that the Nazi regime actively supported.[6] By taking over the lives of German youth, these children were shaped into political reliabilities for the Nazi regime instead of being children, which included giving up the support for the church that they once represented. The leaders of the Nazi party recognized that the youth and their parents were still major parts of the church, but essentially wanted to get rid of this ideology.[7] This is how the children, especially those involved in Hitler Youth, held rather precarious positions of Catholic youth. The main goal of the Saint Hedwig Cathedral on this walking tour is to focus on two aspects of Catholicism in Berlin. The first minor one being that the church continues to hold the same position it has since the day it was built. However, the more prominent position the church holds to represent is the aspects of Catholicism and how they fluctuated under the anti-religious regime that took over the lives of the youth in Germany for the entirety of the Second World War.

German History in Documents and Images, "The Attitude of Young People towards the Party," 1943.

O'Sullivan, Michael E. "An Eroding Milieu? Catholic Youth, Church Authority, and Popular Behavior in Northwest Germany during the Third Reich, 1933-1938." The Catholic Historical Review90, no. 2 (2004): 236-59.

St. Hedwig's Cathedral. Accessed March 28, 2019. https://www.berlin.de/en/attractions-and- sights/3561411-3104052-st-hedwigs-cathedral.en.html

St. -Hedwigs- Kathedrale: The Bishop's Church of the Archdiocese of Berlin. Accessed March 28, 2019. https://www.visitberlin.de/en/st-hedwigs-kathedrale

[1] St. -Hedwigs- Kathedrale: The Bishop's Church of the Archdiocese of Berlin, https://www.visitberlin.de/en/st-hedwigs-kathedrale

[2] St. – Hedwigs- Kathedrale: The Bishop's Church.

[3] St. Hedwig's Cathedral, https://www.berlin.de/en/attractions-and-sights/3561411-3104052-st-hedwigs-cathedral.en.html

[4] Sankt Hedwig Mitte, https://www.hedwigs-kathedrale.de/en/hedwigs-kathedrale/st-hedwig-s-cathedral

[5] Michael E. O'Sullivan, "An Eroding Milieu? Catholic Youth, Church Authority, and Popular Behavior in Northwest Germany during the Third Reich, 1933-1938." 238.

[6] German History in Documents and Images, "The Attitude of Young People towards the Party." 1943.

[7] Daniel Horn. "The Struggle for Catholic Youth in Hitler's Germany: An Assessment." 562.