Friedrichstraße, 1987: Neo-historical urban design in the German Democratic Republic

Planning Perspectives

Volumn 23, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 1-28

  Urban, Florian ^a  

^a TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITÄT BERLIN   (Germany)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN; URBAN DESIGN; URBAN PLANNING; URBAN POLICY;

BERLIN; CENTRAL EUROPE; EURASIA; EUROPE; GERMANY;

EID: 36549058794     PISSN: 02665433     EISSN: 14664518     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/02665430701737950     Document Type: Article

References (94)

1. For a review of the 'National Tradition' in the context of the beginning of the Cold War, see, for example, Francesca Rogier, The monumentality of rhetoric. The will to rebuild in postwar Berlin, in Sarah Williams Goldhagen and Réjean Legault (eds) Anxious Modernisms. Cambridge, Mass. and Montreal: MIT Press and Centre Canadien d'Architecture, 2000, pp.165-90.
2. Simone Hain, Reise nach Moskau. Wie Deutschland sozialistisch bauen lernte. Bauwelt 83, 45 (1992) 2546-2561. On the 'Sixteen Principles of Urban Design' and the new town of Stalinstadt (now Eisenhüttenstadt) that was built in the 1950s according to these principles,
3. see Ruth May, Planned city Stalinstadt: A manifesto of the early German Democratic Republic. Planning Perspectives 18 (2003) 47-78.
4. Joachim Palutzki, Architektur in der DDR. Berlin: Reimer, 2000, p.318.
5. This judgement was shared by numerous interview partners, most significantly by two of the few former high-ranking officials who are still alive: Günter Schabowski, the former First Party Secretary of East Berlin and member of the Politburo, and Gerhard Trölitzsch, the former director of the Department of Construction at the Central Committee and one of the three most influential people in East German construction under the Honecker administration. The other two were Minister of Construction Wolfgang Junker and chief planner Günter Mittag. Gerhard Trölitzsch, interview by author, Berlin, 11 May 2004, and Günter Schabowski, interview by author, Berlin, 26 April 2004. The estimation that Mittag, Trölitzsch, and Junker were the most powerful people in East German construction after Erich Honecker was also confirmed by several interview partners. For example, Manfred Zache, interview by author, Hohen Neuendorf (Brandenburg), 13 August 2003, Günter Stahn, interview by author, Schildow, 14 August 2003, Gerd Zimmermann, interview by author, Weimar, 2 September 2003, and Dorothea Tscheschner, interview by author, Berlin, 27 August 2003.
6. Directive 'Aufgaben zur Entwicklung der Hauptstadt der DDR, Berlin' [Tasks for the development of Berlin, Capital of the GDR], minutes of the Politburo meeting on 3 February 1976, final copy, Bundesarchiv Berlin [Berlin Federal Archive] DY 30/J IV 2/2 1602. There are two minutes of every Politburo meeting: The Arbeitsprotokoll - work copy - and the Reinschrift - final copy. The work copy often contains more detailed information, such as the names of the officials who prepared certain proposals. All translations are by the author.
7. Rainer Eisenschmidt (ed.), Baedeker Guide Berlin, Ostfildern: Baedeker, 11th edn., 1997, pp.131-2.
8. Dieter Dose, Vergessene City. Telegraf (23 December 1960)
9. Anonymous, Die Friedrichstraße bleibt sonntags geschlossen. Der Tagesspiegel (28 October 1956).
10. Ibid.
11. After the 1976 decision, the design of the Friedrichstraße was concretized during three other Politburo meetings. See minutes of the Politburo meeting on 17 January 1984, final copy, Bundesarchiv Berlin DY 30/J IV 2/2 2037
12. on 22 January 1985, final copy, Bundesarchiv Berlin DY 30/J IV 2/2 2095
13. and on 5 February 1985 Bundesarchiv Berlin DY 30/J IV 2/2 2097.
14. See also decree issued by the Politburo in January 1984 that mandates the preservation of the 'characteristic city structure'. Bundesarchiv Berlin DY 30/J IV 2/2 2037, p.166.
15. Draft for the Politburo 'Information zur weiteren Durchführung des Investitionskomplexes Friedrichstraße/Otto-Grotewohl-Straße in der Hauptstadt Berlin, insbesondere für den Zeitraum bis 1990' dated 18 August 1988, authored by a working group of the Ministry of Construction under the direction of undersecretary Karl-Heinz Martini, Bundesarchiv Berlin DY 30/2847 pp.170-87.
16. Ibid., p.176.
17. Design proposal commissioned by the Ministry of Construction in June 1986 and authored by the state-owned construction company Ingenieurhochbau Berlin, Bundesarchiv Berlin DH 1/36355 p.5.
18. Op. cit. [10], p.176.
19. Op. cit. [12], p.14.
20. The number refers to the amount of apartments applied for in 1989. Institut für Soziologie und Sozialpolitik der Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR (ed.), Sozialreport Ost-Berlin East Berlin, 1990, p.125 and Hannsjörg Buck, Wohnungsversorgung, Stadtgestaltung und Stadtverfall, in Eberhard Kuhrt (ed.) Am Ende des Realen Sozialismus, Vol. 2 - Die wirtschaftliche und ökologische Situation der DDR in den 80er Jahren. Opladen: Leske und Budrich, 1996, p.75.
21. This practice was sanctioned officially in article 11 of the Wohnraumlenkungsverordnung (directive for the distribution of living space)
22. ibid. p. 76.
23. This directive was introduced on 14 September 1967. See analysis of the housing problems by the Ministerrat (council of ministers), 1972, Bundesarchiv Berlin DC 20/17247, p.57.
24. Ibid., p.9.
25. A letter by minister of construction Wolfgang Junker to top economist Günter Mittag, dated 15 December 1988, specifies the use. Next to the beer hall and the wine restaurant, the letter mentions a ballroom with two bars, two discothèques, a pool room and a 'leisure space' with sauna and solarium. Junker mentions only that the proposals 'effectuated by commercial institutions' to put up slot machines were rejected. Op. cit. [10], p.262.
26. Ibid., p. 23.
27. Bundesarchiv Berlin DH 1/36357.
28. Ibid., p. 7.
29. Peter Gärtner, Es wird eine Freude sein, dort zu bummeln. Volksblatt Berlin (4 December 1986).
30. Volker Wagner, Materialien zur Informationsfahrt Berlin. Berlin: Presse und Informationsamt des Landes Berlin, 1994, p.100.
31. Adalbert Behr, Bauen in Berlin 1973 bis 1987. Leipzig: Koehler und Amelang, 1987, p.193.
32. Official design proposal, Bundesarchiv Berlin DH 1/36373, p.2.
33. R. Eisenschmidt (ed.), op. cit. [6], p.136.
34. V. Wagner, op. cit. [23], p.110.
35. Roland Korn, interview by author, Dannenreich (Brandenburg), 20 April 2004.
36. Laurenz Demps, Der schönste Platz Berlins: Der Gendarmenmarkt in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Berlin: Henschel, 1993, p.120.
37. Ibid., p.20.
38. Ibid., p. 120.
39. The exhibit took place between October 1980 and March 1981 at the Altes Museum, one of Schinkel's most famous works. It was seen by approximately 200 000 visitors and subsequently shipped to Hamburg. See catalogue Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (ed.), Karl Friedrich Schinkel 1781-1841. East Berlin: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 1980. Also head preservationist Peter Goralczyk pointed out that the exhibit triggered an unprecedented fascination for historic architecture in the GDR. Peter Goralczyk, interview by author, Berlin, 7 April 2004.
40. Minutes of the Politburo, 3 February, op. cit. [5].
41. Following a lengthy debate, the Palace of the Republic was demolished in spring of 2007 to make way for the rebuilding of Berlin's historical Royal Palace which had been damaged in the Second World War and taken down for political reasons in 1950.
42. Manfred Prasser, interview by author, Zehlendorf (Brandenburg), 20 May 2004.
43. For the neo-historical developments that were built in the context of the 750th anniversary celebrations, see for example Simone Hain, Zwischen Arkonaplatz und Nikolaiviertel, in Thorsten Scheer, Josef Paul Kleihues and Paul Kahlfeldt (eds) Stadt der Architektur - Architektur der Stadt. Berlin 1900-2000. Berlin: Nicolai, 2000, pp.337-47.
44. Konrad Naumann, Bericht der Bezirksleitung Berlin der SED an die XII. Bezirksdelegiertenkonferenz on 26/27 March 1976, p. 443. Bundesarchiv Berlin DY 30/2850.
45. See also design proposal from the late 1970s, op. cit. [20], p.23.
46. On 14 May 1979 director of the plan commission Gerhard Schürer sent a proposal for the reconstruction of the Platz der Akademie to top economist Günter Mittag. The proposal, which was probably worked out by Manfred Prasser under the responsibility of Ehrhardt Gißke, suggested the rebuilding of the churches and the Playhouse. A week later, on 22 May 1979, Schürer asked Honecker for his approval of the plan, which was granted. Bundesarchiv Berlin DY 30/2850, pp.62-3. for his approval of the plan, which was granted. Bundesarchiv Berlin DY 30/2850, pp.62-3.
47. Peter Goralczyk, Der Platz der Akademie in Berlin. East Berlin: Verlag für Bauwesen, 1987, pp.187-8.
48. P. Goralczyk, interview, op. cit. [32] and M. Prasser, interview, op. cit. [35]. Next to Prasser, chief architect Roland Korn also favoured a historicizing interior. R. Korn, interview, op. cit. [28].
49. Bundesarchiv Berlin DH 1/36305.
50. A. Behr, op. cit. [24], p.172.
51. P. Goralczyk, op. cit. [39], pp.192-3 [revised version of Goralczyk's dissertation].
52. Ehrhardt Gißke, Bauen, mein Leben. East Berlin: Dietz, 1987, p.142.
53. Peter Mugay, Vom Gendarmenmarkt zum Platz der Akademie. East Berlin: Berlin-Information, 1987, p.37.
54. Ibid., p.39.
55. Next to Prasser, Ernst Wallis, Wolfgang Sebastian and Dieter Bankert collaborated on the design. A. Behr, op. cit. [24], p.172.
56. The acronym stands for Wohnungsbauserie (residential construction series). E. Gißke, op. cit. [44], p.146.
57. Ibid., p.173.
58. M. Prasser, interview, op. cit. [35].
59. P. Mugay, op. cit. [45], p.47.
60. E. Gißke, op. cit. [44], p.147.
61. K. Naumann, op. cit. [37], p.443.
62. P. Goralczyk, op. cit. [39], p.12.
63. Ibid., pp.191, 196.
64. L. Demps, op. cit. [29], p.121.
65. Ibid., p.99.
66. Magistrat von Berlin, Abteilung Kultur [local East Berlin government, Department of Cultural Affairs] (ed.), Studie Platz der Akademie. East Berlin, 1976.
67. V. Wagner, op. cit. [23], p.111.
68. S. Hain, op. cit. [36], p.344.
69. M. Prasser, interview, op. cit. [35]
70. E. Gißke, op. cit. [44], pp.141-4.
71. Gißke's strong influence was stressed by architect Manfred Prasser (M. Prasser, interview, op. cit. [35]).
72. Minutes of the Politburo, 3 February, op. cit. [5].
73. E. Gißke, op. cit. [44], p.170.
74. The slightly modified 'original' Hotel Adlon was rebuilt in 1995 next to the Brandenburg Gate by a West German investor after a design by the firm Patzschke & Klotz.
75. See proposal authored by Mr Herrmann, the director of the Abteilung Vorhaben Industrie und Stadttechnik [Department of Projects for Industrial and Urban Technology] at the Ministry of Construction, dated November 1985 Bundesarchiv Berlin DH 1/35504, p.1.
76. Ibid., p.4.
77. Ibid., p.4.
78. A letter by Mr Herrmann to undersecretary Karl-Heinz Martini dated 6 November 1986 announced a 'large scale experiment,' scheduled for November 1985 on Friedrichstraße to test the laser beamers developed by the firm Carl Zeiss Jena. Ibid., p. 4.
79. Gerhard Trölitzsch, one of East Germany's three most powerful construction officials next to the minister of construction Wolfgang Junker and top economist Günter Mittag, remembered a meeting in 1988 at which the Minister of Commerce communicated that he could not guarantee the supply of the Friedrichstadt Arcades with goods. G. Trölitzsch, interview, op. cit. [4].
80. Directive 'Maßnahmen und Vorbereitung zur 750-Jahrfeier Berlin' [measures and preparation of the 750th anniversary celebration], minutes of the Politburo, 22 January op. cit. [9].
81. Minutes of the Politburo, 17 January op. cit. [9], pp.166-7.
82. Bauakademie der DDR (ed.), Forschungsvorhaben Sozialistischer Städtebau, Programm zur Begutachtung von Generalbebauungsplänen ausgewählter Städte. East Berlin, 1973 [to be found in Bundesarchiv Berlin DH 1/25247 p.17].
83. Bundesarchiv Berlin DH 1/36355 p.5. The proposal was commissioned by the Ministry of Construction on 27 June 1986.
84. Ibid., p.6.
85. Ibid., p.8.
86. The proposal was authored by Mr Herrmann. Bundesarchiv Berlin DH 1/35504 p.1.
87. Ibid., p.4.
88. Dilthey used the term frequently in his 1877 essay on Goethe, which was republished in 1905 in Wilhelm Dilthey, Das Erlebnis und die Dichtung Leipzig: Teubner, 1906, translated as Rudolf A. Makkreel and Frithjof Rodi (eds), Poetry and Experience. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985.
89. See Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method. Translated by Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall. New York: Continuum, 2nd revised edn, 1993, p.67.
90. On the controversies between Gadamer and his former student Habermas, see Allan How, The Habermas-Gadamer Debate and the Nature of the Social. Brookfield, Vermont: Ashgate, 1995.
91. See, for example, Bruno Flierl, Die Postmoderne in der Architektur, in Bruno Flierl and Heinz Hirdina, Postmoderne und Funktionalismus. East Berlin: Verein bildender Künstler, 1985, or Bruno Flierl, Streit um Architekturströmungen. Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Hochschule für Architektur und Bauwesen Weimar 29, 5-6 (1983) 369-72.
92. See, for example, Bruno Flierl, Gebaute DDR. Über Stadtplaner, Architekten und die Macht. Berlin: Verlag für Bauwesen, 1998, in particular p.62, or S. Hain, op. cit. [36], pp.337-47. In both articles, there is no explanation of the formal similarities between postmodernism in capitalist countries and the neo-historical projects in East Germany.
93. R. Korn, interview, op. cit. [28]
94. M. Prasser, interview, op. cit. [35].