A Communist citadel stirs German passions

[liberalpragmatist]

By Colin Nickerson The Boston Globe

TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2006

BERLIN The wrecking ball is once again about to rewrite German history, with the planned demolition of a gargantuan concrete-and-steel citadel erected by the same regime that built the Berlin Wall.

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"It looks like an industrial building, and an ugly industrial building at that," said Wilhelm von Boddien, a businessman who is involved in the drive to replace the palace in the center of Berlin with a replica of a Prussian castle that stood for more than five centuries on the site until it was torn down by the Communists in 1950. "A great city should have a great building at its heart."

But surprising numbers of former East Germans are seeking to save the People's Palace. The passionate opposition to the demolition, which could begin as early as this month, seems to be less about architectural aesthetics than about the deep rifts that still divide Germany.

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The People's Palace rose in the 1970s, when the Soviet-sponsored East German regime was at the peak of its power. While the vast structure on the Unter den Linden theoretically served as the seat of government, housing the regime's Parliament, it also was a cultural and entertainment center for the masses. It contained a 5,000-seat concert hall, theaters, state-subsidized restaurants, a wine bar, a youth center and spaces for art exhibitions, plus rooms for weddings, as church ceremonies were all but banned.

"Germany is intent on eradicating all fragments of the GDR," she said. "Germany wants to destroy even places where people were married or celebrated anniversaries or enjoyed cultural events. They want to smash everything that was ours."

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/02/news/germany.php

[bobbieinok]

1. in 91 in Berlin I got the feeling Germany wanted to destroy all traces of

the Berlin wall......to 'pretend' there had never been a division

I often felt Germany wanted to destroy any physical reminders of its WWII and '2 Germanies' past

Americans want to do the same.....pretend slavery and the Native American near genocide never happened

[Selatius]

2. I say leave it. It'll be a momument representing that era of history

I say leave it the same way I say leave Auschwitz in its place, as a reminder. Communist Party brutality is something that should not be forgotten.

[Ellen Forradalom]

3. And the places and manners in which people created meaning

in their lives under such systems should not be forgotten, either.

[AndreiX]

4. Interesting article

Although I don't uphold the East German regime (it was a phony-communist, social-imperialist state), I think the People's Palace should be kept around and restored to its original looks, if only as a historical reminder.