Berlin’s <a href="https://www.visitberlin.de/de/schwerbelastungskoerper">Schwerbelastungskörper</a> is a massive concrete structure that, today, is hidden in plain sight between a railroad and an apartment building.&nbsp; It’s one of just a dozen <a href="https://www.exberliner.com/politics/nazi-architecture-in-berlin-germania/">remaining pieces</a> of Nazi Architecture in Berlin.&nbsp; And it’s not much to look at. It was built in 1941 as a test structure for <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Triumphbogen_by_Hitler.jpg">a triumphal arch</a> that Hitler wanted to build in that spot.&nbsp;The Schwerbelastungskörper (“heavy load-bearing body”) is the arch’s test structure.&nbsp; It weighs about 12,650 metric tonnes, or about 28 million pounds, and it’s the equivalent weight of one of the four massive legs of the never-built arch.This plan was abandoned as World War 2 accelerated.&nbsp; And the structure remained, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/14/story-of-cities-hitler-germania-berlin-nazis">slowly sinking</a> into Berlin’s marshy soil, providing proof of the arch’s impossibility.&nbsp;In this episode, HBM host Jeff Emtman visits the Schwerbelastungskorper, records some <a href="http://bit.ly/HBM144">impulse responses</a> in the structure’s single room and reflects on his discomfort in finding beauty in another Nazi structure nearby, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221031-tempelhof-the-single-site-that-embodies-berlin">Tempelhof Airport</a> (now <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/08/11/634394533/the-site-of-the-berlin-airlift-now-serves-as-refugee-shelter-and-big-open-park">a public park and refugee camp</a>).&nbsp;Also mentioned on this episode: <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/berlin-airlift">The Berlin Airlift</a>, <a href="https://www.lonelyplanet.com/austria/tirol">Austrian Tyrol</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097757/">The Little Mermaid (1989)</a>, and Der Herr Der Ringe (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/">Lord of the Rings</a> movies dubbed in German).&nbsp;&nbsp;Here Be Monsters is an independent podcast supported by listener donations.&nbsp; If you’d like to make a small monthly contribution, visit <a href="https://www.patreon.com/HBMpodcast">patreon.com/HBMpodcast</a>.&nbsp;Registration for the <a href="https://hbmpodcast.com/art/">Here Be Monsters Art Exchange</a> is open until November 10th, 2022.&nbsp; Sign up: <a href="https://hbmpodcast.com/art/">https://HBMpodcast.com/art/</a>Producer: <a href="http://jeffemtman.com/">Jeff Emtman</a>Music: <a href="https://theblackspot.bandcamp.com/">The Black Spot</a>

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