French
historian Pierre Nora observed already in 1984, that “we speak so much of
memory because there’s so little of it left”[1].
According to his “Lieux de mémoire”, we’re cut off from old customs and rituals,
which used to provide us sense of continuity and affiliation to the culture of
previous generations. Close bond to the past has been broken, “there are lieux de mémoire, sites of memory,
because there are no longer milieux de mémoire,
real environments of memory”. To oppose its complete deconstruction, there is a
global trend to chase after and preserve those traces, in hope of regaining the
connection. In some cases it takes form of facing gloomy recesses of the inglorious
past as a warning, in order to prevent it from happening again. It is strongly visible
in German capital.
Berlin. There’s
no other city buzzing with contemporary culture, chasing after most recent
trends in science or fashion and, at the same time fixed on its difficult
history, evaluating and rewriting it all the time. Cityscape reminds a tangled
web of historical threads, where past and present merge and overlap each other
depending on current constellation of power. It stays in state of constant flux,
while one might observe countless attempts to preserve its ephemeral memories,
anchor them in physical space and bring them back to Berliner’s attention. Stories
are much more likely to be remembered, once there exist authentic places, where
they materialize, which testify their “reality”. Stones don’t speak on their
own accord, though. Thanks to effort of a vast number of eye-witnesses, politicians,
professional entrepreneurs or just ordinary citizens between modern, shining
sky-scrapping offices and facades of refurbished tenement houses emerge
plaques, statues and buildings evoking various moments of capitals biography. Monuments
glorifying former victories are adjacent to objects secreting suffering or terror.
Next to museums or sculptures fulfilling exclusively commemorative function,
there are many spaces serving other purposes today: shops, factories, schools
or public institutions. Some of the latter caught my attention, as I was
strolling through my neighbourhood recently.
AEG am
Humboldthain
Former industrial
estate situated between Brunnenstraße, Gustav-Meyer-Allee, Voltastraße und
Hussitenstraße. This impressive complex of building designed by Peter Behrens
witnessed technological development of industry at the turn of 19th
and 20th centuries (there were produced various electrical devices
used for household and industry, among others parts for first railways). With takeover
of political power by Nazis factory played major role as armament manufacturer. To its production concern had employed
forced labourers, who had been brought from occupied territories of Poland. Poor living conditions and work over 12 hours
a day under constant watch of brutal guards caused suffering and high level of mortality.
In 1995 Wedding district city council sponsored a plaque dedicated to Polish
forced labourers, which hangs on the wall near the entrance to the complex. Currently the area is used by Technischen Universität, business establishments
and media companies (f.ex. Deutsche Welle) and is listed for preservation. Walls
of clock tower adjacent to one of the machine halls covers mural painted by street
artist JR in frames of his project “Wrinkles of the city” (www.jr-art.net/projects/the-wrinkles-of-the-city-berlin)
Der
Wasserturm Prenzlauerberg
Located in charming,
fully gentrified part of Prenzlauerberg, Kollwitzkiez is one of the oldestwater towers in Berlin (built in 1877, in use till 1952).
After Nazis came to power, from 1933 to 1934, adjoining to it building Machinenhaus
I (demolished in 1935) functioned as of one many “wild concentration camps”,
where many communists, socialists, Jews and other groups, treated by ruling
forces as a threat, were interned and killed without a trial. Later it was
transformed into public green area. Today, water tower refurbished and
modernised houses modern apartments and is surrounded by a playground and
kindergarten. Memorial wall and a plaque remind about its past.
Bezirksamt
Pankow
