Visiting Europe's Fascist Sites-- Part 5: Gestapo and SS HQs and Hitler's Bunker

The Topography of terror exhibit in Berlin stands atop the rubble of what was once one of the more terrifying of Nazi sits, the headquarters of the Gestapo secret police and the elite SS force.

Hitler's life would end in Berlin, deep underground in his bunker.  With his capital smoldering in ruins in the spring of 1945, the war in Europe ended after his death.

Rick Stevens:  "While traveling in Italy and Germany recently and taking in the remnants of Mussolini' and Hitler's reigns, I was struck by how entire nations have become mesmerized and led astray by fascist leaders.  The best souvenir from that trip:  a realization of how fragile democracy is -- and how, if you take freedom for granted, you can lose it."

--GreGen