Architecture, Politics, and Identity in Divided Berlin

457 Pages·2014·42.148 MB·English

by  Emily Pugh

Architecture, Politics,
& Identity in Divided
Berlin
Culture, Politics, and the Built Environment
Dianne Harris, Editor
Emily Pugh
Architecture, Politics,
& Identity in Divided
Berlin
University of Pittsburgh Press
Published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15260
Copyright © 2014, University of Pittsburgh Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Printed on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pugh, Emily.
Architecture, Politics, and Identity in Divided Berlin / Emily Pugh.
pages cm. — (Culture, Politics, and the Built Environment)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8229-6302-8 (paperback : acid-free paper)
1. Architecture—Germany—Berlin—History—20th century.
2. Architecture—Political aspects—Germany—Berlin—History—
20th century. 3. Architecture and society—Germany—Berlin—History—
20th century. 4. City planning—Germany—Berlin—History—20th century.
5. Group identity—Germany—Berlin—History—20th century.
6. Germany (West)—Relations—Germany (East) 7. Germany (East)—
Relations—Germany (West) 8. Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany, 1961–1989.
9. Berlin (Germany)—Social conditions—20th century.
10. Berlin (Germany)—Politics and government—1945–1990. I. Title.
na1085.p83 2014
720.943'15509045—dc23 2013049108
For Darren
Map of Berlin indicating the city’s administrative districts as they
appeared until 1990. The grey box is the area detailed by the map of
central berlin. Map by Bill Nelson.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
List of Acronyms xi
Introduction: Divided Capital, Dividing Capital 1
1. Modern Capital, Divided Capital: Berlin before
the Wall 19
2. A Capital without a Country: Shaping West Berlin’s
Image in the Early Cold War 62
3. The Unbridled Buildup of Socialism: Defining and
Critiquing Heimat-GDR 106
4. The Dreamed-of GDR: Public Space, Private Space,
and National Identity in the Honecker Era 155
5. Capital of the Counterculture: West Berlin and the
Changing Divides of the Cold War West 200
6. Back to the Center: Restoring West Berlin’s Image
and Identity 241
7. Collapsing Borders: Housing, Berlin’s 750th Anniversary,
and the End of the GDR 283
Conclusion: Constructing the Capital of the
Berlin Republic 329
Appendix: Governing Entities and Nomenclature,
1949–1989 341
Notes 347
Bibliography 411
Index 435

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the colleagues, friends,
and institutions that supported its creation and completion in myriad ways.
I would first like to thank the following institutions that supported
travel, research, and the writing of this book: the Center for Advanced
Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art, the Conference
Group on Central European History, the German Historical Institute,
the Getty Research Institute, the Graduate Center of the City University
of New York, and the IIE Fulbright Program. The book’s publication was
supported by a David R. Coffin Publication Grant from the Foundation for
Landscape Studies.
I would also like to acknowledge those archives that granted me access
to their holdings and the individuals at those institutions whose assis-
tance and patience were very much appreciated: Heidemarie Bock and
Petra Albrecht at the Baukunst Archiv, Akademie der Künste, in Berlin;
Andreas Matschenz and Barbara Schäche at the Landesarchiv in Berlin;
the very helpful staff at the Filmarchiv of the Akademie der Künste, the
Bundesarchiv in Berlin and Koblenz, the Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv, and the
Getty Research Institute. Additional research was completed with the kind
assistance of the staff members at the Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer
Kulturbesitz in Berlin, the Paley Center for Media in New York, the US Na-
tional Archives and Records Administration in College Park, MD, and the
National Gallery of Art Library, where Jacqueline Protka in particular was
instrumental in arranging access to hard-to-find materials. Special thanks
to the DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst,
where I screened many of the East German films mentioned in the book.
Many thanks also go to Peter Kracht, my editor, and Dianne Harris,
series editor, who both supported me and offered much-needed encourage-
ment throughout the manuscript’s revision, as well as to the book’s copy
editor, Maureen Creamer Bemko. I am also indebted to the anonymous
readers whose comments and suggestions helped improve the book manu-
script immeasurably.
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