Stretching beneath Berlin’s historic TV Tower, the glass facade glowing orange in the sunlight, the hammer-and-sickle wreath hanging prominently in the middle: the Palace of the Republic served as the architectural calling card of communist East Germany.
From its inauguration 50 years ago until its controversial destruction in 2006–08, this iconic building embodied the ideals and promises – or for many, failed promises – of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
Even today, in its structural absence, its legacy lives on, a memory that highlights the debates and complexities woven into German history.
A showpiece building for the young communist state
The year is 1972. The GDR is 23 years old, and its international prominence is growing. Thanks to improved relations with neighboring West Germany, it has established diplomatic relations with many countries around the world. It recently became a permanent observer at the United Nations, with full membership the following year.
The leadership of the Communist Party of East Germany (SED), the de facto ruling party, decide that they need a building that suits their modern, self-confident image. It is to be a “people’s home”, an institution that represents socialist values while also serving as a place of culture and entertainment for East German citizens.
They turn to a barren lot right next to the Spree River in the capital of East Berlin, where a Prussian palace once stood. Heavily damaged during World War II, its remains were torn down in 1950 on the orders of the SED – an old-power structure making way for the political new order.
Construction of the Palace of the Republic began in 1973. Goal: To complete it in just three years’ time. The GDR poured money, materials and labor into its construction, often at the expense of other construction projects.
Right on schedule, the palace opened to the public on 23 April 1976.
“The furnishings are of the finest quality. No expense was spared on material or money.” A West German correspondent reported this Covering the opening of the palace.
State power comes from fun and entertainment
The palace has two primary halls, a smaller hall that houses the parliament of the GDR – a representative body in name only – and a larger hall that is used for all kinds of events, ranging from the SED’s annual all-party gathering to performances by Leipzig’s renowned Gewandhaus Orchestra, international stars such as Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana and South African singer Miriam Makeba, and even West German rocker Udo Lindenberg. Are.
The two halls are united by a huge lobby, approximately 86 by 72 meters long (269 by 236 ft), which also serves as an art gallery. There are restaurants, bars, cafes, an ice cream shop, as well as a disco and a bowling alley on different floors around the palace.
“It was always packed, always full of people. There was always something going on, whether it was someone reading poetry out loud in a corner or a small group playing music. There were also lots of little shops selling things you couldn’t find otherwise,” recalls Hans-Peter Tennhardt, the palace’s acoustic technician. An interview for a German museum publication.
The palace, which attracts around 10,000 visitors a day, is a place where one should be amazed but also amused by the socialist state, allowing the population to engage and celebrate in ways that are not always possible elsewhere.
For some people, the castle is an exciting paradox, a pleasant break from everyday life. But it also brings contempt and ridicule. The lobby’s thousands of bulbous hanging lightbulbs immediately inspired the nickname “Erich Lamp Store”, named after SED party leader Erich Honecker. Others call it “Palazzo Protezzo” because of its grand scale and decoration.
And for others still, it is an expression of the inevitable dictatorial power of the SED.
People felt all different ways about the building, says museum program manager Marin Maas, who conducted dozens of interviews about the castle and people’s relationships with it for a historical project.
“For some people, it was a symbol of the times of oppression of the German Democratic Republic, because it was an official place to go. It took a lot of money to build that building, so they were very critical because they said all the money went to this place, while many other places in the periphery were actually lacking a lot of things,” Maas told DW.
But most of the people Maas spoke to said that the Palace of the Republic “belongs to the culture of their life in that state. And they took it very seriously that after the fall of the Wall it was decided that this building is now closed.”
a controversial disappearance
The palace closed just as the East German state ceased to exist. The previous GDR government ordered its closure in September 1990 due to asbestos contamination; The building was in use for only 14 years.
On October 3, not even a month later, GDR citizens became citizens of the new, reunified Federal Republic of Germany.
Whether they loved, hated, or were indifferent to the palace, its closing coincided with an important moment of change in their lives, an end to the realities of their lives, from the jobs they had done, with, in some cases, restrictions on their freedom.
“For many people in East Germany, it was a really symbolic place in their lives,” Maas said. Its closure was “a big signal for them”.
Over the coming decade, the palace would gradually become desiccated. Everything from fixtures to insulation has been removed, leaving only the frame behind.
In 2003, the German Parliament decided to demolish the remains of the palace and construct a new building, which would presumably be more suitable for the reunified capital. The decision is controversial.
For a few years in the mid-2000s, the skeletal structure remained open for artists to use as exhibition and performance space, and there was pressure from some to continue doing so. Others see the final removal of the palace as an attempt to erase East German history from the historical narrative of reunified Germany.
From 2006–08 the last remains of the Palace of the Republic were dismantled, with the steel melted down and shipped for use elsewhere, including Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.
There is now a new building where the Palace of the Republic once stood: the Humboldt Forum, a cultural center and museum. The building is partly a replica of a Prussian palace, so East German leaders hated it. Although there are temporary exhibitions and projects dedicated to the Palace of the Republic, no permanent replica or exhibition exists today. Just memories of those who faced it in some way or the other.
Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier