First stroll down the lane of Berlin's sites of memory

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 19^th and 20^th 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

Built at the end of 19th century, this oppressive complex of buildings on Fröbelstraße served initially as a hospital. After the end of the Second World War, in May 1945, soviet NKWD set up in basements of House nr 3 prisons for suspected of plotting against the soviet occupation forces in a very wide sense. People were often detained after had been denounced, rarely informed about reasons of treir imprisonment, and subjected to meticulous investigation, physical maltreatment and tortures. Today, buildings host district council. The visitors can learn about its dreadful past from an information board put at the entrance to the complex.

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[1] Representations no 26, Spring 1989, California