VII. The Future of the Schlossplatz
At the same time, the eye falls on the empty space of the Schlossplatz and the Palace of the Republic, which will be a complete skeleton once the asbestos removal is finished. The fact that no federal government offices will fan out here should not be seen as bad news but as good. The historical significance of this place does not call for a rather flat use by a ministerial administration that provides nothing for the public. The utilization program for this place should have an international dimension, perhaps something in the form of an institution that integrates Eastern and Western values. [ . . . ]
IX. The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
The presence of the federal government in Berlin also includes a very subtle landscape of commemoration and remembrance that is supported by it. This refers especially to the remembrance of the crimes of National Socialism, which is part of the core of the political self-conception of the Federal Republic. In Berlin this will be manifest not only in the form of verbal pronouncements, commemorative events, and jointly financed projects, but above all in the shape of the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. In a certain sense, the Bundestag’s 1999 decision in favor of this memorial can be seen as a counterpart to the Berlin resolution of 1991. For it makes clear that the federal government is not making a fresh start in Berlin, but rather is very consciously acknowledging its historical responsibility and the continuity of German history.* The memorial will be built in very close proximity to the Brandenburg Gate, that is, in a location characterized by the highest degree of public visibility. The design by the American architect Peter Eisenman gives reason to assume that, aesthetically speaking, a completely new kind of art for the urban sphere is arising here, one that offers a highly attractive space for the commemorative work that each individual must engage in.
X. Conclusion
Measured against the expectations that were tied to the federal government’s move to Berlin in the early years, its presence in Berlin has had less impact than was originally assumed. The hopes – also entertained by the private sector – that the economic and demographic situation of the city would fundamentally improve in the wake of the federal government were illusory. Equally false were predictions of a new centralism or a revival of old-Prussian conditions. The urban planning physiognomy of the federal government in Berlin makes this particularly clear: Berlin is organizing itself as the capital of a federal state with a European perspective that has never before existed in this form. This restructuring is being accomplished through the appropriation and cultivation of the existing spaces and buildings. The Ribbon of the Federation on the Spreebogen remains the federal government’s only large-scale urban planning intervention. Its completion, however, will take more time, and it will not be able to assume urban qualities without incorporating other forces of development. In the old center, the presence of the federal government is helping to create a city, is filling in potentially empty spaces, and is improving the readability of the city’s historical development. Finally, the addition of the federal government is also accomplishing something marvelous for the city as a whole: with the strengthening of its outer edges, the Tiergarten is becoming the green center of the city.
[ . . . ]
* See Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas, “Das Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas, Informationsblatt” [Foundation for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, “Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Information Sheet”]. Berlin, 2000.
Source: Günter Schlusche, “Die Parlaments- und Regierungsbauten des Bundes im Kontext der Berliner Stadtentwicklung” [“The Parliamentary and Government Buildings of the Federal Government in the Context of the Urban Development of Berlin”], Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, B 34-35, 2001.
Translation: Thomas Dunlap
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