Blown away - The Palace of the Republic

The Palace
of the Republic

BLOWN
AWAY
The Palace
of the Republic
E. A. Seemann

CONTENTS
14 BLOWN AWAY
The Palace of the Republic
Karen Buttler, Hartmut Dorgerloh,
Judith Prokasky, Anke Schnabel
22 FLASHBACKS
1950–1989
32 1950–1989 Up and Coming
Reinhard Alings
48 PHOTO COLLAGES
51 PALACES OF CULTURE
An Attempt at Elucidation
Uta Kornmeier
61 NO PLACE FOR MARX
AND ENGELS
The Development of Marx-Engels
Square from 1951 to 1989
Alfred P. Hagemann
69 A SOCIALIST EXPERIMENT
Design in the Palace
of the Republic
Oliver Sukrow
76 DESIGN OBJECTS
83 THE GLASS FLOWER
Form and Symbolism
of an Ornament
Zsófia Kelm
87 PERSPECTIVES
91 UTOPIA AND PARANOIA
The Ministry for State Security
at the Palace of the Republic
Dagmar Hovestädt
98 MOMENTS
105 TRENCH COAT, SANDWICH,
AND THE SITE
Memories of the Palace
Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk
112 THE PALACE EVENTS PROGRAMME
Culture and Entertainment
in the Spirit of Internationalism
Constanze Fritzsch
119 EVENT POSTERS
127 In the Palace of the Republic
with Willi Sitte
Aron Boks
131 MEMENTOS

1989–1990
136
1989–1990 Tipping Point
Reinhard Alings
142 PERSPECTIVES
1990–2013
150 1990–2013 Down and Out
Reinhard Alings
158 PORTRAITS
174 SPRAYED ASBESTOS IN THE
PALACE OF THE REPUBLIC
The Genesis of an Exception
Bruno Torres Suñén
180 OF DREAMS AND CONSTRUCTS
The Palace of the Republic as a
Place of Remembrance
Hanno Hochmuth
184 PERSPECTIVES
187 MEMENTOS
191 WHO OWNS THE CENTRE?
Who Narrates Our Society?
Gesine Danckwart
196 INTERIM PALACE USE
201 MY PALACE
The Palace of the Republic
as Seen by a Berliner with Roots
in Hamburg and Turkey
Gülşah Stapel
205 dazzling
Victoria Helene Bergemann
208 THE TORETSK CONSERVATORY
A People’s Garden
Zhenia Moliar
211 REVOLUTION BETRAYED
Performing between Memory
and Oblivion
Shuyu Chen
214 SEARCHING FOR THE PALACE
Sold Off, Stored Away, Gone Astray?
Dominique Falentin
222 glass ghost parade
Uljana Wolf
APPENDIX
225 Notes
232 The Authors
234 Recent Publications: Literature
for Further Reflection
235 Photo Credits
239 Acknowledgements

12

13

FLASHBACKS
Distributed throughout the Humboldt Forum – from the cellar to the top floor – 36 Flashbacks
recall important functions and historical events in the Berlin Palace and the Palace of the
Republic. These key items, small ensembles of objects, and audiovisual installations are not
intended as complete or chronological presentations or narrations, but instead as illustrations
or examples of crucial moments in the (cultural) history of the site.
The 12 Flashbacks illustrating the history of the Palace of the Republic form a special highlight.
Conceived as a “house of the people,” this multifunctional building opened in 1976, after
only three years of construction, and featured attractive events and culinary offerings. Memories
of the palace are still vibrant – as are those of the heated debates on its preservation and of
the cultural installations during the interim period until its demolition, in 2006. The Flashbacks
bring various functions and major events at the palace back to life. Not least of all, they attest
to the superior quality of the furnishings and other elements in this most prestigious building
project in East Germany.
Two first day covers from the opening
of the Palace of the Republic
This case displays a changing series of personal mementos
that offer insights into the history of the site.
These first day covers were donated by Peter Hannuth,
the site manager in charge of interior construction for
Wing 3. Signed by the general construction director,
architects, and employees involved in the interior work,
they recall an event on 22 April 1976, the eve of the
official opening, and a farewell dinner for construction
managers on 10 June 1976.
Manfred Gottschall (letter and stamp design), 22 April 1976
Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss, donated by Peter Hannuth, 2021
22

Signage system element
The Palace of the Republic was planned as a public building.
Its many different functions called for a complex signage system that
would allow visitors to find their way around easily and independently.
Klaus Wittkugel designed a system of pictograms for illuminated signs.
They were based on international design standards established
in the 1960s to provide information and guidance at large events.
Klaus Wittkugel (pictograms), Peter Rockel, VEB Ingenieurhochbau Berlin (design),
VEB Leuchtenbau Leipzig (production), 1975, Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss
Flashbacks
23

1950 – 1989
32
Reinhard Alings

Reinhard Alings
Up and Coming
On 19 September 1990, the Palace of the Republic was
abruptly closed by order of East Germany’s Council of
Ministers because of severe asbestos contamination.
Many of its employees arrived that morning to find the
doors locked. They were especially hard hit by the closure,
which brought welfare-flanked mass layoffs in its
wake as well as a 16-year debate on the palace’s fate that
culminated in its demolition. Of its 1,800 employees
in 1989, only 60 were still engaged in 1990, mainly occupied
with shutting it down.
When the German Democratic Republic (GDR) officially
joined the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD), on
3 October 1990, ownership of the palace was transferred
to the Federal Ministry of Finance. On 29 October, the
BRD dissolved the palace as an institution, and on 1 November
all of its technical systems were closed down except
for a skeleton service. For the requisite remediation
of carcinogenic sprayed asbestos, all the furnishings and
most of the technical equipment had to be removed and
the entire building gutted. On 8 May 1991, the Ministry
of Finance commissioned VEBEG GmbH, a federally
owned company, to sell or dispose of the inventory
of the “former Palace of the Republic.” This launched a
process that sent individual parts of the palace all over
the world. 1
▶ Dominique Falentin, The Search for the Palace, p. 214
In the following, key aspects of the history of the Palace
of the Republic, from its urban development planning
to its building design and subsequent use through 1989.
Where relevant, reference is made to other articles in
this volume with more detailed treatment of individual
topics.
THE PLANNING HISTORY
On 27 March 1973, the government of the GDR made
the decision to build the Palace of the Republic. This
marked the end of decades of planning. The urban design
considerations that went into the decision also reflect
political and ideological changes and developments
in the country that began in the early 1950s.
The Marx-Engels Square area with viewing stand
under construction, 1951
The site
The prominent position on Spree Island played a key
role in the planning, design, and construction of what
was envisaged as a so-called “Central Building.” The
Schlossplatz, or Palace Square, which was rechristened
Marx-Engels-Platz (Marx-Engels Square) in 1951 and
1950–1989
33

DESIGN OBJECTS
The Humboldt Forum’s collection contains roughly one thousand objects from the interior of the
palace and is expanding with the help of donations and purchases. Research was done to find
the creators of many of these objects, and some works – such as the ceramic wall art in the staff
canteen – appear here in a publication for the first time. The collection and items on loan reflect
both the tradition of innovative design in East Germany and the taste of the respective period.
Ashtray, candleholder, and vase from the “Iris” porcelain series by Jutta Schulz
76

Coffee sets by Günther Pucher and Peter Smalun,
Palace of the Republic signet by Klaus Wittkugel
Design Objects 1950–1989
77

MOMENTS
The “house of the people” was popular not only for its broad range of cultural
events but also for its restaurants and bars and its general quality as
a place to meet and spend time. Many people celebrated special moments
in their lives at the palace, and for others it was their day-to-day workplace.
Discotheque at the Jugendtreff
(youth club)
98

Dance event at the Jugendtreff (youth club)
Moments 1950–1989
99

EVENT POSTERS
Rock concerts, folk dances, cabaret performances, classical music – cultural
events at the Palace of the Republic were many and varied, as were their
publicity materials. Flyers, elaborate booklets, and large posters were
created by a “who’s who” of East German graphic designers and illustrators.
Modern Soul Band, programme flyer,
design by Carla and Detlef Mann, 1982
1950–1989
119

Posters for a national art festival series with selected cultural ensembles from East German districts,
design by Axel Dehlsen, 1978–80
120 Event Posters

PORTRAITS
Judith Enders
Political scientist and co-founder of the
initiative Third-Generation East
Judith Enders was 13 years old when she heard on the news that the Berlin
Wall had opened up. Instinctively, she understood that the world she knew
would change. The experience of turmoil and upheaval in the years that
followed would continue to occupy her. She felt the closing of the Palace
of the Republic and its subsequent demolition revealed an overbearing and
arrogant attitude towards people who had lived in East Germany.
At university in Berlin, she majored in political science, in part to better understand
and study the change in socio-political systems she had experienced.
In 2009, she and other members of her generation still felt insufficiently
represented in public discourse, and they created the initiative Dritte
Generation Ost (Third-Generation East).
158

Many liberties
What I experienced in the first two years after the Wall
fell, in 1989 and 1990, was an incredible sense of newfound
freedom. For one thing, the adults – teachers at
school, for example – were unsettled by this change. The
entire school seemed to step back: it relaxed its hold as
an institutional authority and gave us, the students, a lot
of freedom. At the same time, as a result of the enormous
social changes that were happening, our parents were
withdrawing as well. They made less of an attempt to regiment
our teenage lives. Looking back now, I would say
that they were barely able to deal with us, that we had
to take care of ourselves. I’m sure that experience made
some people anxious or fearful. But for me it meant an
increase in autonomy, a positive experience of an archy.
There was a new, chiller vibe, peaceful and hippy-like.
This joy and people’s creative fervour to shape their new
lives was something that I experienced as very positive
and freeing.
A gesture of dominance
I still remember how they took off the inner part of the
emblem on the palace façade – the hammer and sickle –
leaving only the surrounding wreath. Even at the time, I
felt that was going too far. I thought, The poor building,
it always tried so hard to be nice. That’s how I saw it as
a child. It wanted to be something for everyone, even if
perhaps it didn’t always succeed. Why are they shutting it
down, of all places? That’s our palace!
For me, it was like they were shutting down a library or a
school, like a hospital was being torn down or some other
building that provided a public service – and for no good
reason. It was a gesture of dominance directed against
the identity of East Germans. You could identify positively
or negatively with the palace, but either way you identified
with it. To completely wipe it out, to raze it to the ground – I
felt that was quite aggressive.
Generational questions
The year 2009 marked the twentieth anniversary of the
Wall coming down, and there were a great number of public
celebrations. In all the discussions of what the German
Democratic Republic [GDR] had been like, it was striking
that the people doing the talking were mostly older
men from the West, along with Wolfgang Thierse as the
only East German. Young and female voices were absent.
That’s why, in 2009, we established Third-Generation East.
We began by organizing two conferences on questions of
identity and public positioning. We published books, hosted
events, and did a lot of media work.
Third-generation East Germans are those who were born
between 1975 and 1985, children who, with a few rare
exceptions, did not come into conflict with the powerful
state authorities of the GDR. We were spared that experience;
we just got lucky.
Why did this process of engaging with our origins only
happen in 2009? In 1989, all we wanted to do was see
the world; the GDR and its history weren’t important to us
at that time. We were looking to the West and travelling to
the West. I think this exploration of the other world was
necessary in order to see how we fit into it and to realise,
“I’m different from people socialised in the West.”
Then there were the various ways to depreciate “East Germans,”
things that we – and above all, our parents – experienced.
We had to look on, as our parents and grandparents
were subjected to structural discrimination and
suffered as a result. You need a certain amount of time
to process that when you’re young; it takes a while before
you’re emotionally able and ready to deal with it.
From an interview on 29 March 2023,
conducted and edited by Mareen Maaß
Portraits 1990–2013
159

MEMENTOS
Olaf Sarnow
A photo of a tattoo of the Glass
Flower on Instagram – Philipp
Hennermann posted it on his profile after tattooing it
on Olaf Sarnow’s thigh. Other tattoo artists had refused
to accommodate the 53-year-old’s wishes, as it’s a
chal lenge to depict transparent material in a tattoo.
Hennermann studied the glass-and-steel sculpture and
produced an image of it together with one of the legendary
sofas and planters from the foyer. It was the 17th of
Sarnow’s 21 tattoos.
Photograph and tattoo
Philipp Hennermann, 2022
Privately owned
Regardless of East German politics, people always had a positive relationship
with the Palace of the Republic. Although as a teenager I was by no
means a conformist. I’m not some kind of GDR freak pining for the old days.
It’s just a part of my history. Even if I didn’t spend all my time in front of the
Glass Flower, somehow it’s still a part of me.
From an audio interview conducted by Christian Schmidt
on 9 May 2023 and edited by Anke Schnabel
1990–2013
187

Sven Swora
An interest in architecture was something Sven Swora
virtually inherited at birth. His father, Karl- Ernst Swora,
was responsible for a series of public buildings put up by a state-owned
construction company in Berlin and, as deputy head architect from 1973, he
oversaw the interior construction of the Palace of the Republic. Like other
architects who participated in the project, he campaigned for the building’s
preservation until his death, in 2001. With this painting, Sven memorializes
his own loss while honouring the work of his father.
Der Palast der Republik von der Spreeseite
(The Palace of the Republic
Seen from the Banks of the Spree)
Sven Swora, 9 September 2002
Watercolour
Privately owned
The palace painting was done a year after my father’s
death. I never intended it as a way of marking the anni ­
versary, but that’s what it became. I believe everything
always happens as it is meant to, subconsciously. I sat
there and saw how the palace façade got greyer and
greyer, because the building had been abandoned. And
as soon as a building is no longer in operation, it begins
to decay. In this painting, I made the facade especially
colourful so that it appears to glow a bit.
From an audio interview conducted by Ralf Pasch
on 28 April 2023 and edited by Karen Buttler
Mementos 1990–2013 189

198 Interim Palace Use

Interim Palace Use 1990–2013
199

NOTES
Buttler, Dorgerloh, Prokasky, Schnabel
BLOWN AWAY
The Palace of the Republic
1 Heinrich Wefing, “Der Palast der Republik,” in Erinnerungsorte
der DDR, ed. Martin Sabrow, (Munich, 2009), pp. 134–41.
2 The panel was titled “Der Palast der Republik – Erinnerungsort
und materielle Kultur.” For other SHF publications addressing
the Palace of the Republic, see Judith Prokasky, “The
Palace of the Republic: A German Place of Memory,” in The
Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace, ed. Stiftung Humboldt
Forum im Berliner Schloss (Munich, 2020), pp. 114–15; Humboldt
Forum: History of the Site: Exhibition Guide, ed. Stiftung
Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss (Munich, 2020); Vom
Kloster zum Humboldt Forum, 700 Jahre Geschichte und Architektur:
Ein Buch zum Tasten, Sehen und Hören, ed. Stiftung Humboldt
Forum im Berliner Schloss (Berlin, 2020).
3 Introduction to the material on the Palace of the Republic held
by the Bundesarchiv Berlin, Bestandsgeschichte. 1. Verwaltung
im Palast der Republik, http://www.argus.bstu.bundesarchiv.
de/DC207-23070/index.htm?kid=ad2a891d-da18-4650-b299-
f09bb45136e3 (accessed 9 November 2023).
4 Anja Tack, “On the ‘Heap of Rubble from a Past Future’ – Tim
Trantenroth’s Mural Recalls Berlin’s Palast der Republik,” in
Contemporary Art at the Humboldt Forum, ed. Stiftung Humboldt
Forum im Berliner Schloss (Berlin/Munich, 2022), pp. 61–65.
5 We would like to thank Marianne Schwarzbach for putting us
in touch with the artists and providing documents.
6 https://sammlungenonline.humboldtforum.org/en.
7 The quotation that appears at the beginning of this introduction
was taken from an interview with Justin Jampol conducted
by Susanne Johne and Judith Prokasky on 25 March 2021 as
part of this process.
8 For more, see Anke Schnabel and Judith Prokasky, “Design
Thinking im Museum: Ein Erfahrungsbericht aus dem Humboldt
Forum in Berlin,” in Besser ausstellen: Innovative Wege der
Konzeption und Reflexion von Ausstellungen, ed. DASA, Arbeitswelt
Ausstellung, Professur für Museologie der Universität
Würzburg, Institut für Museumsforschung (Bielefeld, 2024),
pp. 121–27.
9 Maurice Halbwachs, Das Gedächtnis und seine sozialen Bedingungen,
7th edn (Berlin, 2022).
10 The film team consisted of Julia Novak (direction/interviews);
Andreas Deinert, Harald Mellwig, and Dennis Streckfuss
(camera); and Sascha Czycykowski, Michele Gambarara, and
Matthias Kreitschmann (sound).
11 The interviewees included people involved in the building of
the palace, including Frank Arndt, Wolf R. Eisentraut, and Brigitte
Fahlisch; artists such as Vera Oelschlegel, Gertraude Pohl,
and Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss; members of the People’s Chamber
such as Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, Jens Reich, and Wolfgang
Thierse; and Amelie Deuflhard and Philipp Oswalt, the organisers
of the ZwischenPalastNutzung association, which oversaw
the interim use of the palace as a cultural venue.
12 The overarching project “Memory Work at the Humboldt
Forum” (2021–24) is located in the academy of the Stiftung
Humboldt Forum, its Education, Learning and Science programme
department, in cooperation with the History of the
Site division.
13 Some of the interviewees did not want their interviews to be
recorded or shared with the public.
14 The interviewers had their own personal opinions, which influenced
how they conducted the interviews, and they disclosed
these views during the interview. The interviews can
be found in the collection maintained by the History of the
Site division.
Reinhard Alings
1950–1989 UP AND COMING
1 In addition to specific research reports commissioned by the
Stiftung Humboldt Forum, this essay is largely based on the
following works: Martin Beerbaum et al., Der Palast der Republik
(Leipzig, 1977), Thomas Beutelschmidt and Julia M. Novak
(eds.), Ein Palast und seine Republik: Ort – Architektur – Programm
(Berlin, 2001); Aufbauleitung Sondervorhaben Berlin (ed.),
Ein Palast der Republik und seine Erbauer: 1973–1976 (Berlin, 1976);
Amelie Deuflhard et al. (eds.), Volkspalast: Zwischen Aktivismus
und Kunst / Theater der Zeit (n.p., 2006); Gerd Dietrich,
Kulturgeschichte der DDR, 3 vols. (Bonn, 2019); Gabriele Dolff-
Bonekämper and Hiltrud Kier (eds.), Städtebau und Staatsbau
im 20. Jahrhundert (Munich and Berlin, 1996); Werner Durth
et al., Architektur und Städtebau der DDR, 2 vols. (Frankfurt am
Main and New York, 1998); Wolf R. Eisentraut, Zweifach war des
Bauens Lust (Berlin, 2023); Bruno Flierl, Haus Stadt Mensch: Über
Architektur und Gesellschaft: Gespräche mit Frank Schumann ( Berlin
2019); Matthias Grünzig, Der Fernsehturm und sein Freiraum
( Berlin, 2022); Kirsten Heidler (ed.), Von Erichs Lampenladen zur
Asbestruine (Berlin, 1998); Moritz Holfelder, Der Palast der Republik:
Aufstieg und Fall eines symbolischen Gebäudes (Berlin 2008);
Internationale Expertenkommission Historische Mitte Berlin,
Historische Mitte Berlin, vol. 1: Abschulssbericht, vol. 2: Materialien
(n.p., 2002); Elmar Kossel, Hermann Henselmann und die Mo derne
(Königstein in Taunus, 2013); Thorsten Klapsch, Palast der
Republik (Mannheim, 2010); Anke Kuhrmann, Der Palast der Republik
(Petersberg, 2006); Steffen Mau, Lütten Klein (Frankfurt
am Main, 2019); Palast der Republik [issuing body], Palast der
Republik (Dresden, 1977); Palast der Republik, ed. Elke Neumann,
exh. cat. Kunsthalle Rostock (Halle an der Saale, 2019); Joachim
Palutzki, Architektur in der DDR (Berlin, 2000); Michael Phillip,
Dürfen Kommunisten träumen?: Die Galerie im Palast der Republik:
Eine Dokumentation (Munich et al., 2017); Martin Sabrow (ed.),
Erinnerungsorte der DDR (Munich, 2009); Alexander Schug
(ed.), Palast der Republik: Politischer Diskurs und private Erinnerung
(Berlin, 2007); Frieder Sieber and Hans Fritsche, Bauen in der
DDR (Berlin, 2006); Christian von Steffelin, Palast der Republik
(1994–2010) (Ostfildern, 2011); Stefan Wolle, Die heile Welt der
Diktatur (Bonn, 1998).
2 Cit. in Durth et al. 1998 (see note 1), vol. 1, Ostkreuz, p. 173;
see also “Engineering: The Sixteen Principles of Urban Design,”
https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering: The_Sixteen_
Principles_of_Urban_Design (accessed 16 January 2024).
3 Bruno Flierl, “Planung und Bau des Palastes,” cit. in Beutelschmidt
and Novak 2001 (see note 1), p. 71.
4 Cit. in Kuhrmann 2006 (see note 1), p. 58.
Notes
225

5 Contracts and reports differ considerably in their listed amounts
of sprayed versus raw asbestos and evidently also mistook
some for the other. According to its contact, the Limex company
(GDR) ordered a total of 772 tons of “sprayed asbestos”
in instalments from 1 April to 1 December 1974 along with
machinery and equipment, and the interim contamination
report of 16 September 1990 by the ATD company directed
by Rainer Tepasse shows the same figure: BArch [Federal Archives],
DC 207/137. Final documentation of asbestos removal
by the engineering firm Dr-Ing. Steffen GmbH in September
2003, however, lists 720 tons of “raw asbestos” and 4,500 to
5,000 tons of “sprayed asbestos.”
6 Kuhrmann 2006 (see note 1), p. 63.
7 Klaus Beetz, “Die wirtschaftliche Seite,” in Beutelschmidt and
Novak 2001 (see note 1), p. 155.
8 Volker Büttner, “Die Veranstaltungen: Zwischen Professionalismus
und Provinzialismus,” in Beutelschmidt and Novak
2001 (see note 1), pp. 158–73. The remainder is divided between
events in the youth club, the TiP, disco, bowling, the
foyer, etc., resulting in a ratio of around 8% politics and 92%
culture.
9 Paul Kaiser, “Alltag ohne Epoche,” in Beutelschmidt and Novak
2001, p. 132.
10 One was installed on the ground floor of the Humboldt Forum,
and the other was slightly reduced in size and placed in a conference
room at the federal finance ministry.
11 Kaiser 2001 (see note 9).
12 Beetz 2001 (see note 7), pp. 148–57.
13 Thomas Beutelschmidt, internal research request, 2022.
14 17-BArch_MfS_HA_VIII_6846.
15 Stefan Wolle, The Ideal World of Dictatorship: Daily Life and Party
Rule in the GDR 1971–1989, trans. David Burnett (Berlin, 2019);
for German original, see Wolle 1998 (see note 1), p. 58.
Uta Kornmeier
PALACES OF CULTURE
1 Heinz Graffunder et al., Der Palast der Republik (Leipzig, 1977),
pp. 10–15.
2 Anke Kuhrmann, Der Palast der Republik: Geschichte und Bedeutung
des Ost-Berliner Parlaments- und Kulturhauses (Petersberg, 2006),
p. 155.
3 This essay is based on a detailed study by Dr Thomas Beutelschmidt
in 2022–23, commissioned by the Stiftung Humboldt
Forum. With thanks to Alessandra Praun for her support.
4 Christine Meyer, Kulturpaläste und Stadthallen der DDR: Anspruch
und Realität einer Bauaufgabe (Hamburg, 2005), pp. 9–14; see
also Thomas Ruben and Bernd Wagner, Kulturhäuser in Brandenburg:
Bestandsaufnahme und Problemanalyse (Potsdam, 1994),
pp. 15–66, esp. p. 21.
5 Dieter Bartetzko and Karin Berkemann (eds.), “Kulturhäuser:
Demokratie feiern,” moderneRegional, no. 3 (Summer 2023).
6 Vladimir I. Lenin, Werke, vol. 36 [Russian], p. 535, cit. in Heinz
Marohn, Klubs und Kulturhäuser: Platz und Funktion, Leitung und
Planung, Arbeit und Wirkung (Berlin, 1978), p. 10.
7 “Unsere Chronik,” Stiftung Kultur Palast, https://www.
kph-hamburg.de/ueber-uns/chronik/ and Kulturpalast Wedding
International, https://kulturpalastwedding.wordpress.
com/ (accessed 11 December 2023).
8 Cf. Anke Hoffsten, Das Volkshaus der Arbeiterbewegung in Deutschland:
Gemeinschaftsbauten zwischen Alltag und Utopie (Vienna et
al., 2017). For the following see also Horst Groschopp, “Kulturhäuser
in der DDR: Vorläufer, Konzepte, Gebrauch: Versuch
einer historischen Rekonstruktion,” in Ruben and Wagner 1994
(see note 4), pp. 97–178.
9 See esp. Christiane Post, Arbeiterklubs als neue Bauaufgabe der sowjetischen
Avantgarde (Berlin 2004), pp. 22–48; Gabriele Gorzka,
Arbeiterkultur in der Sowjetunion: Industriearbeiter klubs 1917–1929:
Ein Beitrag zur sowjetischen Kulturgeschichte (Berlin, 1990).
10 Post 2004 (see note 9), esp. pp. 26–29.
11 Lewis H. Siegelbaum, “The Shaping of Soviet Workers’ Leisure:
Workers’ Clubs and Palaces of Culture in the 1930s,” International
Labor and Working-Class History, 56 (October 1999),
pp. 78–92, here p. 79.
12 El Lissitzky, “The Club as a Social Force,” in Russia: An Architecture
for World Revolution, ed. El Lissitzky, trans. Eric
Dluhosch (Cambridge, MA, 1970), pp. 43–45, here pp. 43–44.
13 Ibid., p. 44.
14 Anna Bokov, “Soviet Workers’ Clubs: Lessons from the Social
Condensers,” The Journal of Architecture, 22, no. 3 (2017),
pp. 403–36, here pp. 407–11; Siegelbaum 1999 (see note 11)
pp. 84–87.
15 Michał Murawski and Jane Rendell, “Preface: The social condenser:
a century of revolution through architecture, 1917–
2017,” The Journal of Architecture, 22, no. 3 (2017), pp. 369–71.
On designs and buildings of the 1920s, see Post 2004 (see
note 9), p. 34; as well as Anna Bokov, Lessons from the Social
Condensers: 101 Workers’ Clubs and Spaces for Mass Assembly
(Zurich, 2023).
16 Post 2004 (see note 9).
17 Bokov 2017 (see note 14), here pp. 411–14.
18 Cit. in Siegelbaum 1999 (see note 11), pp. 81–82; see also Werner
Durth, “Auf der Suche nach der neuen Stadt – Parallelbau und
Kontraste im deutschen Städtebau,” in Städtebau und Staatsbau
im 20. Jahrhundert, ed. Gabi Dolff-Bonekämper and Hiltrud
Klier (Munich and Berlin, 1996), pp. 17–38, esp. pp. 29–30.
19 Ulrich Hartung, “Traditionalismus: Geschichtsbezüge und
Funktionshierarchien in der frühen DDR-Architektur,” in
Grammatik sozialistischer Architekturen: Lesarten historischer
Städte bau forschung zur DDR, ed. Holger Barth (Berlin, 2001),
pp. 127–47.
20 Otto Karl Werckmeister, “Der Sowjetpalast in Moskau und
die große Kuppelhalle in Berlin als projektierte Bauten einer
totalitären Volksrepräsentation,” in Dolff-Bohnekämper and
Klier 1996 (see note 18), pp. 113–30, citation p. 119.
21 See the competition guidelines in Naum Gabo und der Wettbewerb
zum Palast der Sowjets Moskau 1931–1933, ed. Beate Moser, exh.
cat. Berlinische Galerie (Berlin, 1992), pp. 202–09; Karl Schlögel,
“Der Schatten des imaginären Turms,” ibid., pp. 177–84.
22 On Boris M. Iofan, see the recent work by Wladimir Sedow,
Stalins Architekt: Aufstieg und Fall von Boris Iofan (Berlin, 2022).
23 Michał Murawski, The Palace Complex: A Stalinist Skyscraper, Capitalist
Warsaw, and a City Transfixed (Bloomington, 2019).
24 Ministerialblatt der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 25, no. 16
(September 1950), pp. 153–54; cit. in “Die 16 Grundsätze des
Städtebaus,” 3 April 2005, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung,
https://www.bpb.de/themen/nachkriegszeit/wieder
aufbau-der-staedte/64346/die-16-grundsaetze-des-staedte
baus/ (accessed 11 December 2023).
226 Notes

FAMED AND DEFAMED,
REMOVED AND REMEMBERED
The Palace of the Republic was the building that most
exemplified political power in East Germany. Built from
1973 to 1976 in the middle of Berlin, the state and cul tural
centre was the seat of the Volkskammer (parliament) as
well as a meeting place with event and gallery spaces,
restaurants, a theatre, discotheque, and bowling alley.
The first freely elected Volkskammer convened there
in March of 1990. Shortly thereafter, the building was
closed because of asbestos contamination. In the early
2000s, the shell was successfully used for cultural purposes
but nonetheless demolished not much later. Today,
the Humboldt Forum stands in its place. Yet the palace
remains present in many people’s memories.
This volume explores aspects such as closeout sales,
construction site, ghosts, Glass Flower, Global South,
identity, interim use, lighting system, Marx & Engels,
palaces of culture, reconstruction, Stasi, and more.
Recent research, artistic contributions, and personal
interviews open new perspectives. The Palace of the
Republic thereby emerges as an all-German topic.